Launches / Falcon 9 Block 5

Past launch Launched successfully

Fram2

Falcon 9 Block 5, flown by SpaceX

Falcon 9 Block 5 lifting off with the Fram2 mission
Image via The Space Devs.

This was SpaceX's 39th launch of 2025, and its 488th in all.

Counting every operator, it was the 68th orbital launch attempt anywhere in 2025, and the eighth from Launch Complex 39A.

Launched
Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 1:46 a.m. UTC
Window
Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 1:46 to 6:26 a.m. UTC
Launch site
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Rocket
Falcon 9 Block 5
Operator
SpaceX
Weather
60% favorable

Watch the webcast →

The mission

Fram2 is the world’s first astronaut mission to polar orbit. Named after the Norwegian polar research ship Fram, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch into a 90° circular orbit from Florida, making it the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit. A cupola will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft to allow for Earth observation from at an altitude of 425 – 450 km. During the 3-to-5-day mission, the crew will study green fragments and mauve ribbons of continuous emissions comparable to the phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), persistently measured at an altitude of approximately 400 - 500 km above Earth’s atmosphere, among other studies. The crew will also work with SpaceX to conduct a variety of research to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body, which includes capturing the first human x-ray images in space, Just-in-Time training tools, and studying the effects of spaceflight on behavioural health. Chun Wang, an entrepreneur and explorer who co-founded f2pool and stakefish, serves as the mission commander. The vehicle commander will be Jannicke Mikkelsen, a film director, and cinematographer. The vehicle pilot will be Eric Philips, a professional polar adventurer and guide who has completed ski expeditions to the North and South Poles. The final crew member will be mission specialist Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Berlin, currently pursuing her PhD in Norway.

Type
Human exploration
Destination
Polar orbit

The rocket

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

Height
70 m
Built by
SpaceX
First flew
May 11, 2018
Lifts to low Earth orbit
22,800 kg
View 5 specifications Show less
Lifts to geostationary transfer
8,300 kg
Diameter
3.7 m
Mass at liftoff
549 t
Thrust at liftoff
7,607 kN
Stages
2

627 flights, 626 of them successful. 612 boosters brought back from 617 attempts.

spacex.com → Wikipedia →

The operator

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

Sector
Commercial
Based in
USA
Founded
2002
Run by
Elon Musk, CEO

724 launches so far, 709 of them successful. The last 209 in a row went to plan.

spacex.com → Wikipedia →

The launch site

It went up from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA.

See the pad on a map →

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