SpaceX Launches First Crewed Spaceflight Over Earth’s Poles

Cape Canaveral: The American space exploration company SpaceX on Tuesday launched Fram2, the first crewed spaceflight to fly directly over both of Earth's poles, carrying four astronauts. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying Resilience spacecraft, lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral in Florida. According to Qatar News Agency, two and a half minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first stage shut down its nine engines and separated from the rest of the vehicle, successfully landing on a SpaceX drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The second stage of Falcon 9 continued its journey into low Earth orbit, releasing Resilience spacecraft to fly on its own less than ten minutes after launch. The Fram2 mission is led by investor Chun Wang, accompanied by Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, Australian adventurer Eric Phillips, and German robotics researcher Rabia Roga. Over the next three to five days, the crew will orbit the planet, passing over some of its most remote regions and offering an unpr ecedented view of both poles. During the mission, they will conduct scientific experiments, including capturing the first-ever X-ray images from space and studying fungal growth in microgravity. The crew underwent eight months of training in preparation for this mission. Upon their return to Earth, they will attempt to exit the capsule without medical assistance as part of a study assessing astronauts' ability to perform basic tasks after space travel. The mission is named Fram2, after the historic 19th-century polar exploration ship. Notably, Fram2 is the first human spaceflight to travel directly over both of Earth's poles, something no astronaut has done before.