A crew of four passengers is set to launch aboard a SpaceX capsule that will carry them over the Earth’s poles, marking the first time humans have flown such a mission.
In order to achieve this orbit, the Falcon 9 will fly straight south, right over Miami and Cuba, after liftoff. This means those south of Cape Canaveral could get amazing views as the rocket flies overhead.
The group is slated to lift off from a launchpad in Florida during a 4.5-hour window that opens at 9:46 p.m. ET Monday.
Malta-based investor Chun Wang is financing the mission, which was dubbed Fram2 after a Norwegian ship that carried key expeditions to the North and South poles around the turn of the 20th century.
Wang made his fortune with bitcoin mining operations, and he paid SpaceX an undisclosed sum of money to conduct this mission. Joining him are three polar explorers whom Wang met through his Earth-bound travels: Norwegian film director Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge and Australian adventurer Eric Philips.
The crewed mission that traveled closest to the planet’s poles to date was a Soviet-era spaceflight called Vostok 6 in 1963.
However, Vostok 6 was flown at a 65-degree inclination, whereas Fram2 will aim for a 90-degree orientation, meaning it will fly perfectly perpendicular to the equator.
