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.

posted 08-16-2024 08:26 AM            

[Fram2] will launch into a 90 degree circular orbit to the south from Florida...

posted 08-16-2024 08:38 AM               

I know the freedom of space was established in international law decades ago, but airspace is still a national sphere. I thought Vandenberg and the Western Test Range were specifically set up to cope with polar orbiting satellites that Florida could not, due entirely to the issue of atmospheric overflight and potential debris fallout on non-sovereign, populated territory.

posted 08-16-2024 08:53 AM               

Prior to that, the most recent polar orbit launch from Florida was in 1969, prior to Vandenberg being used for such missions.

posted 08-17-2024 03:54 AM               

Remember Rufina.

A Thor DM-21 rocket was launched into space carrying two satellites [Transit 3a + Solrad 2] at Cape Canaveral on 30 November 1960. Sometime after the launch, the rocket exploded, and its debris fell on Cuba, killing a cow named Rufina. Fidel Castro called the accident a "cruel attack and violation of Cuba's air space."

Shortly after, about 250 Cubans with several cows demonstrated in front of the US Embassy in Havana. "The Yankees are killing us without mercy," "Eisenhower, you murdered one of my sisters," etc., said the banners of the protestors' cows. Rufina had a state funeral.

Eventually, the Cuban and US governments agreed to settle the damages claim for 2 million USD. The world remembered Rufina as the most expensive cow in history.

posted 08-17-2024 09:13 AM               

However, I maintain that accidents and disasters take no notice of what should and shouldn't occur. (You will also note the article talked of a "notional" safe corridor. And no mention was made of SpaceX's flyback ability going wrong. SpaceX and its rockets is/are not infallible.)

I just don't understand, when there is a perfectly capable and operational facility to hand that guarantees no overflight of densely populated areas, why anyone would risk using a route that cannot avoid overflying densely populated (and non-jurisdictional) areas.

On edit: ...and to expand slightly, because the above makes me sound like some kind of Luddite.

I fully accept that nothing can be made absolutely safe. But. There is an element of risk and reward that needs to be considered. There was widespread condemnation, outrage, and opposition to new-fangled transportation when Huskisson lost his legs and his life at the opening event of the first commercial railway. This year alone more than a hundred people worldwide have lost their lives to falling under a train — and nobody bats an eyelid about it.

posted 10-16-2024 08:30 AM               

We are now targeting NET spring 2025 for launch of Fram2, the first human spaceflight to explore Earth from a polar orbit. The new timing allows us to take advantage of more favorable weather conditions required for a safe launch and return to Earth for human spaceflight missions.

We continue to train and finalize details around the research we will be flying aboard Dragon.

posted 10-16-2024 09:51 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Blackarrow:
...But if they launch towards the end of the year, the crew won't see much of the north polar region. A mission around mid-March would allow both poles to be viewed.

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