Joining the expedition will be Eric Philips from Australia, Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway, and Rabea Rogge from Germany. Mikkelsen will serve as the mission commander, while Philips will take on the role of pilot.
SpaceX has successfully completed 13 missions and transported a total of 50 astronauts using its fleet of four Crew Dragon capsules. Currently, the company is in the process of developing a fifth capsule. Although it remains uncertain whether Fram2 will be used on the new Crew Dragon, it will have a cupola attachment instead of a docking apparatus. This modification is necessary for future flights of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
On August 26, he will once again take flight aboard Resilience as part of the Polaris Dawn mission. This upcoming orbital flight, which will depart from Kennedy Space Center, will not feature the cupola. Instead, there will be a hatch that will enable the first ever commercial tethered spacewalk.
The Fram2 takes its name from the renowned ship Fram, which was originally constructed in Norway. This ship played a vital role in enabling explorers like Roald Amundsen to navigate the treacherous terrains of the Arctic and Antarctica during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
According to SpaceX, when it is launched, Fram2 will become the inaugural human spaceflight mission to explore Earth from a polar orbit and soar over the Earth’s polar regions for the very first time.
According to SpaceX, Wang’s mission aims to showcase the crew’s adventurous spirit, ignite a sense of awe and curiosity in the general public, and emphasize the role of technology in expanding the frontiers of exploration on Earth and beyond.
Axiom Space has already conducted private missions and two missions with Isaacman. Fram2 could potentially become the seventh private astronaut mission on SpaceX’s schedule.
The Crew-9 mission, which marks the first human spaceflight from SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex 40, has the flexibility to launch from either KSC or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This became possible after SpaceX installed a crew access arm at the pad.
According to an announcement made by SpaceX, the Fram2 mission will have a duration of three to five days and will reach an altitude of 264 to 279 miles. SpaceX stated that the mission will focus on studying unique light emissions that resemble auroras, using input from space physicists and citizen scientists.
The researchers aim to examine the thermal emissions in green and mauve colors, along with conducting various studies to understand the impact of space travel on the human body. Additionally, they plan to capture the first-ever X-ray images of a human in space.