On March 31, SpaceX successfully launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft, Resilience, on a private astronaut mission known as Fram2. This groundbreaking mission represents the first crewed spaceflight to traverse the poles, a significant achievement in space exploration.
A Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 9:47 p.m. Eastern, carrying the Crew Dragon into space. The spacecraft, designated Resilience, separated from the rocket's upper stage approximately 10 minutes post-launch. Fram2, the sixth non-NASA Crew Dragon flight, achieved a polar orbit with a 90-degree inclination, allowing it to fly directly over both the North and South Poles. This surpasses the previous record of 65 degrees held by early Soviet Vostok missions.
Leading the Fram2 mission is Chun Wang, a cryptocurrency billionaire. In a pre-flight social media discussion, Wang stated, “As a kid, I used to stare at the blank white space at the bottom of world maps, wondering what was out there,” explaining his drive for this unique mission profile. He explicitly stated, “I don’t want to repeat the same mission profile again and again,” highlighting the mission's novelty.
Jannicke Mikkelsen serves as the vehicle commander, overseeing Dragon operations during crucial flight phases. She noted the interactive nature of piloting Dragon, stating, “As the vehicle commander, you have to learn how to talk to Dragon and how Dragon talks back to you.” Rabea Rogge, the mission pilot and first German woman in orbit, emphasized Dragon's automation, while also outlining her role in data collection.
Eric Philips, a seasoned polar explorer, acts as mission specialist and medical officer. He described the mission as “an incredible opportunity,” likening it to a polar expedition. The Fram2 mission comprises 22 experiments from eight countries, ranging from observing polar aurora to studying mushroom growth in microgravity. Marissa Rosenberg, a senior medical research engineer at SpaceX, highlighted the mission's focus on exploration, stating, “When I first sat down with the Fram crew and asked what kind of research they were excited about, they really emphasized exploration, and so we found a lot of things that are firsts and are also going to help us on way to explore the universe.”
Innovative safety measures were also implemented. The crew will conduct a post-splashdown self-extraction, testing procedures for future lunar and planetary missions. Rosenberg emphasized the importance of this, saying, “When you land on the moon or Mars or any planetary surface, there’s not going to be any recovery team there to greet you. We really want to start understanding what crews are capable of right when they land.”
After approximately three and a half days in orbit, Dragon will splash down off the California coast, a departure from previous Florida landings. This change, announced last July, aims to prevent uncontrolled reentry of Dragon's trunk section. Jon Edwards, vice president of Falcon and Dragon at SpaceX, explained the rationale, stating, “That guarantees that it’s going to come in in a controlled way. We know pretty much exactly where it’s going to come in.”
The mission also involved a new trajectory for the Falcon 9 launch, avoiding populated areas. Edwards noted, “Dragon is basically programmed to dodge Florida, Cuba, Panama and Peru,” ensuring a safe water landing in case of an abort.
Fram2 builds upon previous Crew Dragon missions, such as Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn, utilizing the large cupola window first featured on Inspiration4. Kiko Donchev, vice president of launch at SpaceX, remarked, “I think we could have flown this mission earlier had the mission design come. We like to stack new things off of capabilities we’ve built before.” Edwards concluded by emphasizing the mission's unique nature, stating, “This mission is not a cookie-cutter.”