posted 08-12-2024 03:15 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss SpaceX's first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions, the Fram2 mission, with crewmates:

• Jannicke Mikkelsen, vehicle commander (Norway)
  
• Eric Philips, pilot (Australia)
  
• Chun Wang, mission commander (Malta)
  
• Rabea Rogge, mission spcialist (Germany)

posted 08-12-2024 03:48 PM               

Some more about the crew:

• Jannicke Mikkelsen, vehicle commander
  website | X | Instagram

  Mikkelsen is a Norwegian award-winning film director and cinematographer who specializes in movie productions using next-gen technology. Jannicke has developed a niche working in hazardous environments on film productions in the arctic, underwater, aviation and space.

  Her innovation highlights include working with wildlife pioneer David Attenborough to shoot the first 360 documentaries underwater, film director for the legendary rock band Queen's 3D-360 live music video, Guinness World Record holder of the fastest circumnavigation of Earth via the North and South Pole while live-streaming to 55 million viewers from 43,000 feet, and virtual cinematographer for Netflix's sci-fi thriller
  "Stowaway" starring Anna Kendrick.

  Mikkelsen is the recipient of the first ever European Society of Cinematographers Award for Extraordinary Technical Achievement, in 2017 she was named one of Norway’s most influential woman in tech, and in 2019 one of UK’s most influential women in tech.

• Eric Philips, pilot
  website | X | Instagram

  Philips has lead expeditions to the four biggest ice caps in the world and has been, with his fellow citizen and companion John Muir, the first Australian to reach both the North and South Pole on skis.

  Born in April 1962, he studied at the University of South Australia from which he received a Bachelor's degree in Education and Outdoor Education. During his young years, he was the director of Outdoor Education on the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School.

  In his early thirties, he rushes headlong into his first big challenges. In 1995, he succeeds in crossing Greenland for the first time, using skis, power kites and a kayak, from Ammassalik to Kangerlussuaq. A film came out of this adventure: "Chasing the Midnight Sun" which was awarded the Emmy Award. A few years later, he used his experience to cross the Patagonian ice cap; he also crossed the Spitzberg cap (2008), the Icelandic glaciers (2003) as well as the Ellesmere Island glaciers (1992).

  In 1996-97, Philips worked as a field education officer at the Mawson Australian station (Antarctica) for the Australian Antarctic Division.

• Chun Wang, mission commander
  X | YouTube

  Wan is the co-founder and administrator at F2Pool and founder of stake.fish, one of the largest validators of cryptocurrency.

  He is currently halfway through visiting every country/territory in the world.

• Rabea Rogge, mission specialist
  website | X

  Rogge is a PhD candidate in the Department of Marine Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Her doctorate thesis is in data-driven navigation, guidance and control for autonomous surface vehicles in harsh conditions.

  She previously received a Masters of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

  Fascinated by extreme environments, she has studied them to understand the limits of our world — and to push beyond them, whether that is space by taking the technology lead of a satellite mission, the ocean by taking direct action for marine conservation at sea or the Arctic by preparing for a Greenland crossing in 2025.

posted 08-12-2024 05:15 PM            

Don't misunderstand me this is a fascinating Crew Dragon mission — which I shall follow with great interest — and I have nothing but admiration for both the crew and SpaceX.

posted 08-12-2024 06:25 PM               

In this case it appears that the "mission commander" is the one underwriting the whole trip and so is in charge of what is to be done during the flight. The vehicle commander (and pilot), by comparison, will be trained on how use the limited on board controls that Dragon has.

quote:

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Originally posted by issman1:
Wasn't NASA space shuttle mission STS-36 the first and (thus far) only polar orbital manned spaceflight?

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To quote the mission's website:

[Fram2] will launch into a 90 degree circular orbit to the south from Florida, making it the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth's polar regions from low-Earth orbit.

The North and South Poles are invisible to astronauts on the International Space Station, as well as to all previous human spaceflight missions except for the Apollo lunar missions but only from far away. To date, the highest inclination achieved by human spaceflight has been the Soviet Vostok 6 mission, at 65 degrees. This new flight trajectory will unlock new possibilities for human spaceflight.