SpaceX Announces First Human Flight to Polar Orbit

On Monday, SpaceX announced they will provide launch and space hardware for the first human flight that will go into a polar orbit. The previous highest latitude a manned spacecraft has flown to is 65.1 degrees, done by the Soviets 61 years ago (1963). The private mission will be led by a Chinese-born cryptocurrency entrepreneur named Chun Wang, and he will be joined by a polar explorer, a roboticist, and a filmmaker whom he has befriended in recent years.

The "Fram2" mission, named after the Norwegian research ship Fram, will launch into a polar corridor from SpaceX's launch facilities in Florida and fly directly over the north and south poles. The three- to five-day mission is being timed to fly over Antarctica near the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, to afford maximum lighting.

The four-person crew will fly, fittingly, aboard Crew Dragon Endurance, which is named after Ernest Shackleton's famous ship that was trapped in the Antarctic ice and eventually sank there about a century ago. The spacecraft will be fitted with a cupola for both photography and filming.

The summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere is the winter solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, so they're hoping to launch in four months, but while look-ups will confirm for you that the date is December 21st, we don't know what kind of "tolerance" goes along with that. That is, can they launch on any date within one week either side of that, one month either side, or just what?

It's also an unusual mission in private spaceflights in not being funded (or flown) by Jared Isaacman, who has been involved with both the Inspiration4 mission in September of '21 and the coming Polaris Dawn mission, currently set for August 26th. During an interview, Wang said he modeled the Fram2 mission's crew and public outreach programs on the template established by Isaacman. 

Wang had said that he became a billionaire when cryptocurrencies soared in price in 2021. He had always been interested in flying into space and started asking SpaceX about the cost to take a ride. In 2023 the discussions matured, and Wang realized that if he bought an entire mission he could set its parameters. Since another love of Wang's is the arctic and antarctic, it seems like an obvious choice. 

The crew of Fram2 from left to right: Eric Philips, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Chun Wang, and Rabea Rogge.  Image Credit: SpaceX

The mission's three crew members joining Wang are:

Jannicke Mikkelsen, Vehicle Commander: A film director and cinematographer, Mikkelsen specializes in remote and hazardous environments such as the Arctic, ocean, aviation, and space. In 2019, she served as Payload Specialist on the record-breaking polar circumnavigation flight One More Orbit mission in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Eric Philips, Vehicle Pilot: A professional polar adventurer and guide, Philips has completed dozens of ski expeditions to the North and South Poles since his first polar expedition in 1992. He is co-founder of the International Polar Guides Association and co-creator of the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme.

Rabea Rogge, Mission Specialist: A robotics researcher from Berlin, Rogge is currently pursuing her PhD in Norway. Her work spans from having led a satellite mission to researching ocean robotics in the Arctic, reflecting her commitment to advancing technology in both the polar regions and space.

"I'm amazed that you can now become a commercial astronaut," Mikkelsen said in an interview. "I have a pretty gnarly injury background, being in a wheelchair for a good year, and then learning to walk again between three and five years old. I wish I could tell that girl that she can become an astronaut."

Wang said he met two of the crew members while on a ski trip several years ago, and another in Svalbard. All share his interests in exploration, adventure, and the poles. He said it is his hope that they will all help the mission contribute to increasing humanity's understanding of the Earth's poles and spread the inspiration of spaceflight.

In my mind, I can see Wang talking with someone from SpaceX and asking about the cost to just "buy a seat" on another mission. After a lot of back and forth someone tells him a number. He says to himself, "is that all?!?  Gee, I should just buy all four seats and take a lifetime dream flight."