Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched a crew of four private astronauts on the Fram2 mission, which will pave the orbital route from the North Pole to the South Pole for the first time in history. This is a new trajectory that has never before been flown by humans, SpaceX reports.
About the Fram2 Mission
- The mission is led by its sponsor, Maltese investor Chun Wang, a Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur who founded a bitcoin mining company.
- He and three of his colleagues launched aboard the Crew Dragon 0 capsule from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:47 p.m. on March 31, US Eastern Time (April 1, 4:47 a.m. EET).
Image: SpaceX
- The mission team also consisted of Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, who specializes in virtual reality filming; German roboticist and polar researcher Rabea Rogge; and Australian traveler Eric Philips, known for his ski expeditions to the Earth's polar regions.
Image: SpaceX
- Over the course of 3-5 days, the crew will conduct 22 scientific experiments, primarily focusing on the effects of microgravity on the human body. In particular, the crew plans to take the first X-ray in space and conduct a study of physical exercise to maintain muscle and bone mass.
- In addition, the crew plans to disembark from the Dragon spacecraft after a safe return to Earth without additional medical and operational support.
- Prior to the launch, the crew arrived at the launch site accompanied by police in a convoy of Tesla electric vehicles from another company owned by Musk. At the same time, another launch was taking place at the spaceport - a Falcon 9 rocket blasted into space as part of a separate Starlink mission.
Context
According to Reuters, the name Fram2 is a reference to the Norwegian ship Fram, which was the first to explore the Arctic in the early 20th century.
Fram2 is SpaceX's sixth private mission, reinforcing the company's dominance in commercial spaceflight. This is the 16th crewed launch of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which was developed with support from NASA to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
SpaceX remains the leader in private orbital missions, while competitor Boeing is still finalizing development of its Starliner spacecraft.
While governments have traditionally been the customers for such missions, willing to pay about $55 million for a seat on the ship, the Fram2 crew is funded entirely by private individuals.
