SpaceX Fram2 becomes first crewed mission to circle Earth over both poles
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SpaceX launched the Fram2 mission from Florida at 01:46 UTC on 1 April 2025 with four private astronauts aboard Crew Dragon Resilience. The spacecraft entered a polar orbit, making it the first crewed flight to pass over both geographic poles.
Key Facts
- Before Fram2, the crewed inclination record was about 65 degrees, set by Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova on Vostok 6 in 1963.
- At Fram2's altitude, Dragon could travel from the North Pole to the South Pole in a little over 46 minutes.
- The International Space Station flies at 51.6 degrees inclination and therefore passes no farther north or south than 51.6 degrees latitude.
- NASA and the US Air Force converted Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base for polar shuttle launches in the 1980s, but the plan was canceled after the Challenger accident.
- Post-launch tracking put Resilience in an orbit inclined about 90.01 degrees at roughly 430 kilometres altitude.
Polar Orbit
The official Fram2 mission site described the target as a 90-degree circular orbit at roughly 430 kilometres. Post-launch tracking put Resilience in an orbit inclined about 90.01 degrees, a nearly exact polar orbit rather than a separate technical class. At Fram2's altitude, Dragon could travel from the North Pole to the South Pole in a little over 46 minutes. Earth rotated underneath the orbital plane, shifting each ground track westward and giving the crew successive views of different longitudes.
Crewed Inclination Record
Before Fram2, the crewed inclination record belonged to Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova's Vostok 6 mission in 1963, at about 65 degrees. Other Soviet and Russian flights used relatively high inclinations, but none reached 90 degrees. The International Space Station is inclined at 51.6 degrees, so it travels no farther north or south than 51.6 degrees latitude. China's Tiangong station and most US shuttle missions flew lower-inclination routes, while Apollo crews saw polar regions only while leaving or returning to Earth.
NASA's Polar Shuttle Plan
NASA and the US Air Force converted Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for shuttle launches carrying military and scientific payloads into high-inclination or polar orbit. Enterprise was taken to the pad for fit checks in 1985. NASA says the Challenger accident led the Air Force to cancel the plan the following year, and no shuttle ever launched from Vandenberg. One planned mission, STS-62-A, already had a crew assigned.
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SpaceX Fram2 becomes first crewed mission to circle Earth over both poles
