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🚀 SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Crewed Polar Expedition Fram2

Named in honor of the ship that helped explorers first reach Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions, the mission commander will be Chun Wang, an entrepreneur and explorer who co-founded f2pool and stake...

Fram2 Mission | Launch

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SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

fram2: First Human Spaceflight To Earth’s Polar Regions

Later this year in 2024, SpaceX will launch Fram2. And you’ll see that human spaceflight won’t be like it has been before. Following the path to the glory of earlier heroic polar pioneers, a team of four space explorers, coming from six countries, will be the first humans to fly …

Fram2

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Polar Orbit
Mission: Human Exploration

Polar Orbit Launch Complex 39A Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
B1085 - A Shortfall of Gravitas

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.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • March 28, 2025, 4:36 a.m.

Tweaked T-0.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 25, 2025, 6:50 a.m.

Adjusted start of launch window.


hitura-nobad • March 21, 2025, 4:06 p.m.

Update launch window end.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 21, 2025, 3 p.m.

Tweaked launch time and launch pad information.


Cosmic_Penguin • March 20, 2025, 3 a.m.

Reverted back to April 1 UTC.


Falcon 9

Family:
Configuration: Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    1
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    549.0 T
  • Thrust
    7607.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
  • Variant
    Block 5
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Block 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $52000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8300.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B1085

Status: Active


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: August 20, 2024
Last Flight: January 15, 2025
Flights: 5
Landings Attempted: 5
Landings Successful: 5
Previous B1085 Flights

Landing Information

The Falcon 9 1st stage B1085 will attempt to land on ASDS ASOG after its 6th flight.

Landing Attempt Confirmed

Crew Dragon Resilience


Active Human Rated Crew On-board: 4 Crew Capacity: 4 Payload Capacity: 6000 kg
Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Serial Number: C207

Crew Dragon Resilience was used for the Crew-1 mission.

Crew Dragon 2 Details

Crew


Jannicke Mikkelsen

Commander - configurations.Country.None - ( SpX )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: June 8, 1986
Age: 38

Rabea Rogge

Pilot - configurations.Country.None - ( SpX )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: Jan. 1, 1995
Age: 30

Chun Wang

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( SpX )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: None
Age: None

Eric Philips

Mission Specialist - configurations.Country.None - ( SpX )

Status: Active

Date of Birth: April 30, 1962
Age: 62

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 472 Failures: 14 Pending: 109

Agency Type:

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.

INFO WIKI

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Fram2 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of polar spaceflight

The four astronauts will spend three to five days in a free-flier Dragon mission that will see them orbit over the north and south poles. The crew arrived in Florida on Monday for their final week of quarantine before launch.

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

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