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Eric Philips

Australian - (SpX)

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Date of Birth: April 30, 1962
Age: 63


Eric Philips is an Australian polar explorer, adventurer, polar guide and private astronaut.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Fram2

SpaceX | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
April 1, 2025, 1:46 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

Fram2 is the world’s first astronaut mission to polar orbit. Named after the Norwegian polar research ship Fram, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch into a 90° circular orbit from Florida, making it the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit. A cupola will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft to allow for Earth observation from at an altitude of 425 – 450 km. During the 3-to-5-day mission, the crew will study green fragments and mauve ribbons of continuous emissions comparable to the phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), persistently measured at an altitude of approximately 400 - 500 km above Earth’s atmosphere, among other studies. The crew will also work with SpaceX to conduct a variety of research to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body, which includes capturing the first human x-ray images in space, Just-in-Time training tools, and studying the effects of spaceflight on behavioural health. Chun Wang, an entrepreneur and explorer who co-founded f2pool and stakefish, serves as the mission commander. The vehicle commander will be Jannicke Mikkelsen, a film director, and cinematographer. The vehicle pilot will be Eric Philips, a professional polar adventurer and guide who has completed ski expeditions to the North and South Poles. The final crew member will be mission specialist Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Berlin, currently pursuing her PhD in Norway.

Polar Orbit B1085 - Flight Proven ( ) A Shortfall of Gravitas
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CEO: Elon Musk

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 8 hours ago
Crew-12
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

SpaceX Crew-12 is the twelfth crewed operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial C…


Ariane 64
Success
3 days, 2 hours ago
Amazon Leo (LE-01)
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…


Vulcan VC4S
Success
3 days, 9 hours ago
USSF-87
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

USSF-87 will launch two identical Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites GSSAP-7 and GSSAP-8 directly to a near-geosyn…


Proton-M
Success
3 days, 10 hours ago
Elektro-L No.5
81/24 (81P) - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Elektro-L is a series of meteorological satellites developed for the Russian Federal Space Agency by NPO Lavochkin. They are designed to capture real…


Smart Dragon 3
Success
3 days, 12 hours ago
PRSC-EO2 & 6 satellites
South China Sea (launch location 3) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

Carried 7 satellites to sun-synchronous orbit, including PRSC-EO2 (Earth observation satellite for the Pakistan government's SUPARCO) & CUHK-1. Detai…