SpaceX flies crew around Earth's poles for first time

The Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:46 p.m. ET atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission was led by Chun Wang, a Malta resident who made his fortune from Bitcoin mining, who paid a fee to join the trip. He was joined by Norwegian film director Jannicke Mikkelsen, German roboticist Rabea Rogge and Australian adventurer Eric Philips.

The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shortly after launching the Fram2 astronaut mission over the Earth's poles on March 31. Photo: SpaceX

Instead of flying east like conventional missions to take advantage of the Earth’s rotation, Fram2 flew south – a challenging route that required more fuel. After launch, the Falcon 9 rocket passed over Cuba and Panama before reaching speeds of more than 17,000 mph to place Crew Dragon in polar orbit.

According to Dr. Craig Kluever from the University of Missouri, the Fram2 flight path requires a lot of energy because it does not take advantage of the natural thrust from the Earth's rotation like traditional orbits. However, SpaceX still has enough technology to put the ship into orbit as planned.

The polar orbit was designed to celebrate the crew’s passion for exploration. It was also the first time a private spaceflight team had been certified to fly such a special route. “We’re not your average NASA astronauts… We’ve gone from zero to certified astronauts,” Mikkelsen said.

Chun Wang is the co-founder of F2Pool, one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pools, controlling about 11% of Bitcoin's total computing power (hashrate). His fortune is estimated to be in the billions of dollars, although the exact figure has not been disclosed.

Mikkelsen is a science fiction and documentary filmmaker who specializes in filming in extreme environments. She is also Wang's neighbor in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, one of the world's most remote settlements.

Rogge is a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, specializing in vehicle navigation and control systems in extreme environments. She is also the first German woman to fly into orbit.

Eric Philips is a seasoned explorer who has made some 30 expeditions to the polar regions since 1992. He likens this trip to a blizzard in space, with environments no less harsh than his trips on Earth.

Fram2 is expected to orbit the Earth's poles for about three to five days, during which the crew will conduct 22 scientific studies, most of which will focus on human health and physiology in space.

After completing its mission, Crew Dragon will leave orbit, plunge into Earth's atmosphere and land in the ocean, where a rescue team will be waiting to pick up the crew.

While not a scientific breakthrough, Fram2 marks an important milestone in the field of commercial spaceflight, opening up new opportunities for future private space missions.

Ngoc Anh (according to SpaceX, CNN, Space)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/spacex-lan-dau-tien-dua-phi-hanh-doan-bay-quanh-hai-cuc-trai-dat-post340985.html