Fram2 is a planned private human spaceflight mission, operated by SpaceX on behalf of entrepreneur Chun Wang. During the mission, the 16th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, Wang and his all-civilian crew — Jannicke Mikkelsen, Eric Philips and Rabea Rogge — will be propelled into a polar orbit, a first for a human spaceflight mission. During the three to five-day mission, the crew says they will conduct scientific research.[2][3]
 Artist's rendering of Crew Dragon Resilience during Fram2 | |
| Mission type | Private spaceflight |
|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX |
| Website | f2 |
| Mission duration | 3–5 days (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Resilience |
| Spacecraft type | Crew Dragon |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 4 |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 2025[1] (planned) |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Launch site | Kennedy, LC‑39A or Cape Canaveral, SLC‑40 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Polar orbit |
| Altitude | 425–450 km (264–280 mi) |
| Inclination | 90° |
| Period | 93.4 minutes |
 Mission insignia | |
Crew
editThe crew of Fram2 was announced in August 2024.[4][5]
| Position | Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Mission commander | First spaceflight | |
| Vehicle commander | First spaceflight | |
| Vehicle pilot | First spaceflight | |
| Mission specialist | First spaceflight | |
Mission
editNamed Fram2 in reference and succession to the polar exploration ship Fram, the mission is intended to study the Earth's poles and their space environment. It will be a free-flight mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, without docking to a space station. The selected spacecraft is Endurance, sharing a name with Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic exploration vessel. It will be equipped with the panoramic cupola from Inspiration4. The mission is scheduled for March 2025.[1] It will launch from Florida, either from the LC-39A launch pad at Kennedy Space Center or the LC-40 pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The mission will enter a low Earth orbit (between 425 and 450 km (264 and 280 mi)) with a polar inclination (90°), allowing it to fly over both of Earth's poles. It will aim to observe and study aurora-like phenomena such as STEVE and green fragments and conduct experiments on the human body, including the first X-ray of a human in space.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Baylor, Michael. "Upcoming Launch: Fram2". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ Grønning, Trygve (13 August 2024). "Norske Jannicke Mikkelsen skal til verdensrommet" [Norwegian Jannicke Mikkelsen is going to space]. NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b Wall, Mike (12 August 2024). "SpaceX to launch 4 people on historic Fram2 mission over Earth's poles in late 2024". Space.com. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Berger, Eric (13 August 2024). "SpaceX announces first human mission to ever fly over the planet's poles". Ars Technica. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Harwood, William (12 August 2024). "SpaceX to launch privately-financed international crew of four around Earth's poles". spaceflightnow.com. Retrieved 13 August 2024.