SpaceX Fram2 mission, which will mark the first crew to fly over Earth’s poles, includes (L-R) mission specialist and medical officer Eric Phillips, pilot Rabea Rogge, vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen and commander Chun Wang. Photo courtesy of SpaceX
SpaceX is gearing up to launch private Fram2, the first crewed mission to orbit Earth’s poles, on Monday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The historic launch will carry four civilians from four countries.
The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule are scheduled to lift off at 9:46 p.m. EDT, if launch weather permits, with a splashdown scheduled for Friday or Saturday in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California. Advertisement
Other launch opportunities are 11:20 p.m. on Monday and 12:53 a.m. or 2:26 a.m. on Tuesday.
The crew, heading to low Earth orbit for the next three to five days and referred to by SpaceX as “framonauts,” includes mission commander Chun Wang of Malta; vehicle commander Janice Mikkelsen of Norway; pilot Rabea Rogge of Germany; and Australian Eric Phillips, who will serve as the flight’s mission specialist and medical officer. Advertisement
“Teams continue to monitor weather conditions ahead of tonight’s launch of Fram2 and the framonauts. Weather is 60% favorable for the first T-0,” SpaceX wrote Monday in an updated post on X.
Teams continue to monitor weather conditions ahead of tonight’s launch of Fram2 and the @framonauts. Weather is 60% favorable for the first T-0 → https://t.co/vSt6tfeLZG pic.twitter.com/Qye2SqPbN5— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 31, 2025
“My own journey has been shaped by lifelong curiosity and a fascination with pushing boundaries,” Chun, who is a wealthy bitcoin entrepreneur, told reporters Friday. “As a kid, I used to stare at a blank white space at the bottom of a world map and wonder what’s out there.”
“It is the launch day today,” Chun wrote Monday in a post on X. “SpaceX engineers worked overnight to conduct final checks of the spacecraft and rocket. We will have a go/no-go decision by L-7 hours.”
Monday’s Fram2 launch will mark SpaceX’s third privately funded civilian space tourism flight. Mikkelsen is a cinematographer, Rogge is a robotics expert and Phillips calls himself an adventurer.
While the crew is not comprised of seasoned astronauts, Mikkelsen told CBS News they are well qualified given “the extensive training required by SpaceX.” Advertisement
“I wish it was tourism,” Mikkelsen said. “Our education has lasted well over a year, so I have never studied so hard for a three-and-a-half-day expedition in my life.”
Over the weekend, the “Fram2 framonauts and SpaceX completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff.”
The Fram2 @framonauts and SpaceX completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff on Monday pic.twitter.com/e1T9RI57Fy— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 30, 2025
Fram2 will launch into a 90-degree circular orbit, flying south over Miami and Cuba in a rare polar mission launch from Florida. The highest inclination achieved by human spaceflight was 65 degrees during the Soviet Vostok 6 mission.
“We’re going to fly out of 39A in Florida and go pretty much straight south,” said Jon Edwards, a SpaceX vice president who oversees Falcon 9 flight operations. “In fact, the flight path is going to go over Florida. If you were in Miami and you looked straight up, you know at the right time, you would see the rocket and the crew flying right overhead.”
Fram2 is named after a record-breaking ship from the early 20th century, which sailed to the polar regions and traveled farther north and south than any other ship of its time. Fram2 could break similar records by being the first spacecraft to orbit over Earth’s poles. Advertisement
Over the next few days, the crew will conduct more than a dozen science experiments to include growing mushrooms and taking X-rays of the human body while in orbit.
“Additionally, after safely returning to Earth, the crew plans to exit from the Dragon spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance,” according to SpaceX, “to help researchers characterize the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks after short and long durations in space.”
