4.04.2025

After nearly four days of flying in a polar orbit to explore the Earth’s polar regions for the first time, Dragon and the Fram2 crew will return to Earth on Friday, April 4, splashing down at approximately 9:19 a.m. PT off the coast of California. This will be the first Dragon human spaceflight mission to splash down in the Pacific Ocean as Dragon recovery returns to the West Coast. Falcon 9 launched Fram2 on Monday, March 31 at 9:46 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour prior to splashdown, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.

MISSION OBJECTIVES

During their multi-day mission, Dragon and the crew are conducting 22 research studies designed to help advance humanity’s capabilities for long-duration space exploration and the understanding of human health in space. To-date, the crew has taken the first x-ray in space, performed exercise studies to maintain muscle and skeletal mass, and grown mushrooms in microgravity. 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.

THE CREW

This is the first human spaceflight for Mission Commander Chun Wang, Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, Vehicle Pilot Rabea Rogge, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Eric Philips.

Quelle: SpaceX