Last week, SpaceX launched a crew of astronauts into an orbit above Earth’s poles, a historic first. This mission, Fram2, allowed four astronauts to observe both poles, as well as the aurora borealis from space for the first time in human history.
Photo by Ashton Guitard.
Fram2 falls into a slim, and very new category of spaceflight, it is a fully privately funded mission which NASA has little involvement in. In fact, the mission is primarily organized by SpaceX and Chun Wang, a Chinese billionaire and founder of one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools.
Wang serves as the mission commander, along with vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, pilot Rabea Rogge, and mission specialist and polar explorer Eric Philips. Mikkelsen is of particular interest, due to her prior work as a cinematographer, and is on board mainly to capture footage. Thanks to her skill, we may soon see some of the first ever movie footage shot in space.
Photo by SpaceX.
Most spaceflight involving people tends to be in equatorial orbits, meaning they travel West to East across the surface. A polar orbit, by contrast, sends the astronauts flying North to South, passing over regions of the planet that most never see.
This will provide opportunities for imagery, observations, and science that have never been possible before. According to Katie Herlingshaw, an aurora researcher at Norway’s University Center in Svalbard, “[Mikkelsen] is taking these very high-resolution videos, and we have full-color images as well. It’s quite a unique setup because these are the first people who have ever been there”.
This mission also marks the continuation in the trend of private space investment. Prior to Wang, the only privately funded space missions had been Axiom Space’s three missions, as well as Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn, which were both funded by soon-to-be NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. Fram2’s success will surely pave the way for a more eclectic and varied set of space missions beyond the scope of what government agencies can deliver.