Upcoming Private SpaceX Mission Will Boldly Go Where No Human Has Orbited Before

SpaceX is gearing up for one of its most unique missions yet, launching four private astronauts into polar orbit to observe the planet’s most remote regions from above. The Fram2 mission, named in honor of the original ship that reached both Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions, is set for launch no earlier than Monday, March 31 at 11:20 p.m. ET. The mission will venture out where no other human spaceflight mission has gone before, flying over the planet’s polar regions at an altitude of around 265 to 280 miles (425 to 450 kilometers) above the ground. A four-person crew will ride on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chun Wang of Malta, who founded the Bitcoin mining companies f2pool and stakefish, is leading Fram2 and is reportedly funding the mission. The remaining crew includes Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian cinematographer; Eric Philips, an Australian polar adventurer; and Rabea Rogge, a German robotics researcher. Despite their ec ... Read full article.