Fram2 astronauts gear up for SpaceX launch
Fram2's astronauts were busy over the weekend with preparations for their upcoming SpaceX launch for their mission to orbit Earth’s north and south poles.
SpaceX said Sunday in an X post that Fram2’s four astronauts "completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff on Monday."
Photos shared by the Elon Musk-run aerospace company showed Fram2’s private astronauts — Chun Wang, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge and Eric Philips — donning space suits and sitting in the Dragon spacecraft that they will ride into orbit on Monday evening.
Fram2 is seeking to achieve a "90-degree circularized orbit" over Earth’s polar regions after it launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket," according to a recent Fram2 press release.
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The targeted time for the Fram2 mission launch is 9:46 p.m. ET on Monday night, with "three additional launch opportunities within the approximate 4.5-hour window," SpaceX said.
The mission is poised to be the "first human polar-orbit spaceflight," with Fram2 saying the Earth’s poles "have not been fully visible to other astronauts in orbit" apart from the Apollo lunar missions.
Chun detailed their "busy day" of pre-launch preparations on Sunday in an X post, talking about the "dry dress rehearsal," briefings and other activities he participated in.
The four Fram2 astronauts will "conduct 22 research studies designed to help advance humanity’s capabilities for long-duration space exploration and understanding of human health in space" while in orbit around Earth, according to SpaceX’s website.
Their orbit around Earth is supposed to last several days, Fram2 said.
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"After extensive training and dedication from our entire crew, we are honored to continue to legacy of the Fram name in an exciting era of commercial space exploration," Chun said in a press release. "We are thankful for this opportunity, and we are grateful to SpaceX for making this mission a reality – we are excited to be the first crew to view and capture the Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit and support important research to help advance humanity’s capabilities for long-duration space exploration."
SpaceX brought the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft designated for the approaching Fram2 mission out to the launchpad on Saturday, according to an X post.
The Fram2 astronauts spent over eight months training for the mission. Their training included numerous simulations and emergency preparedness, among other activities, according to Fram2.