March 31, 2025

2 min read

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Watch SpaceX Launch Historic Fram2 Crewed Mission over Earth’s Poles Tonight

Fram2, a first-of-its-kind private mission to send four astronauts into polar orbit around Earth, is about to launch

By Mike Wall & SPACE.com

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket vertical with the Crew Dragon atop.

A close-up view of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Crew Dragon spacecraft before a launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four-person Fram2 crew is set to ride similar hardware into polar orbit on the evening of March 31, 2025.

Evgeniy Baranov/Alamy Stock Photo

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SpaceX plans to launch the Fram2 astronaut mission over Earth's poles tonight (March 31), and you can watch the action live.

Fram2's Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule are scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida tonight at 9:46 p.m. ET (0146 GMT on April 1). If that timeline isn't met, there are three additional opportunities available over the next roughly 4.5 hours, at 11:20 p.m. ET (0320 GMT), 12:53 a.m. ET (0453 GMT) and 2:26 a.m ET (0626 GMT).

SpaceX will stream the launch live via its website and X account, beginning about an hour before liftoff. Space.com will air the webcast as well.

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Fram2 will send four people from four different nations to low Earth orbit for three to five days. Those crewmembers — all of them spaceflight rookies — are mission commander Chun Wang of Malta, vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen of Norway, pilot Rabea Rogge of Germany, and Australian Eric Phillips, Fram2's medical officer and mission specialist.

The quartet will circle our planet over both of its poles — a trajectory no human spaceflight mission has ever taken before. Fram2 will also break ground with several of its 22 science experiments. For example, the mission will attempt to grow mushrooms and take X-rays of the human body in orbit for the first time.

"Additionally, after safely returning to Earth, the crew plans to exit from the Dragon spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance, helping researchers characterize the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks after short and long durations in space," SpaceX wrote in a Fram2 mission description.

Fram2 will be SpaceX's 17th human spaceflight overall and the sixth conducted for private customers. Among the company's other commercial human flights were Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn, both of which were funded and commanded by Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump's nominee to be the next NASA chief.

SpaceX's 11 other crewed missions to date have been voyages to and from the International Space Station for NASA.

Copyright 2025 Space.com, a Future company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Mike Wall has been writing for Space.com since 2010. His book about the search for alien life, “Out There,” was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

More by Mike Wall

SPACE.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier.

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