SpaceX aims to break new barriers in polar exploration with the first manned space mission above Earth’s poles — a private flight piloted by a crypto entrepreneur later this year, the company said Tuesday.
The mission, named “Fram2” after a 19th-century polar expedition schooner, is set to take three to five days and was bought by Chun Wang, a wealthy bitcoin pioneer who founded f2pool and stakefish, for an undisclosed sum.
He will be joined by three polar experts: Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge and Australian polar adventurer Eric Philips.
It is the aerospace industry’s latest foray into private space tourism, which has been growing rapidly in the United States in recent years.
“From mission proposal, planning, trajectory design, to crew selection, everything has been done by the customer,” Wang, who was reportedly born and raised in China but is now a citizen of Malta, said in a post in X.
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“A new chapter in space exploration is unfolding before our eyes,” he said.
Satellites have flown over the poles, but because of the Earth’s rotation, their approach can take more power, and radiation can also be a problem, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told AFP.
“To date, the highest inclination achieved by human spaceflight was the Soviet Vostok 6 mission, at 65°,” according to the mission’s website.
The poles are not visible from the International Space Station (ISS).
The mission will use a SpaceX Dragon capsule equipped with an observation dome. The craft will fly at an altitude of between 265 and 280 miles (425 and 450 kilometers), according to SpaceX, which is owned by mercurial billionaire Elon Musk.
The crew plans to conduct research, including taking the first X-ray images in space and studying an aurora-like light phenomenon, according to SpaceX.
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SpaceX has flown 13 manned missions in the past four years. It carries Nasa astronauts to the ISS, but has also launched several space tourism missions, including the first in 2021, called Inspiration4, funded by American billionaire Jared Isaacman.
“Until 2021, space missions were the sole prerogative of governments,” Wang wrote, adding: “Then @inspiration4x came along and changed everything.”
SpaceX is set to launch another private mission, Polaris Dawn on August 26, carrying four crew members, including Isaacman.
It is planned to include the first private spacewalk.
Source: AFP