SpaceX successfully launched Maltese Bitcoin mogul Chun Wang and three crewmates into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking a groundbreaking moment in private spaceflight. The Fram2 mission, named after the Norwegian polar ship Fram, is the first human flight to traverse both the North and South Poles, a feat unattempted in over six decades of space exploration.
Wang, a Chinese-born entrepreneur who co-founded F2Pool—one of the world’s earliest Bitcoin mining pools—commanded the mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Joined by Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips, the crew lifted off at 9:23 p.m. EDT on a Falcon 9 rocket. Their trajectory took them southward over the Atlantic, reaching a 270-mile (430-kilometer) orbit within 30 minutes, where they began a three-to-five-day journey circling Earth every 90 minutes. SpaceX’s live X post—“Liftoff of Fram2 and the @framonauts!”—captured the moment, drawing global attention.
The mission’s polar orbit sets it apart. No human has flown beyond 65 degrees latitude—near the Arctic and Antarctic circles—since Valentina Tereshkova’s 1963 flight. Wang’s team will observe Earth’s poles through the Dragon’s cupola, a panoramic window offering 360-degree views, while conducting 22 experiments. These include the first human X-ray in space, muscle health studies, and an attempt to grow oyster mushrooms in microgravity—research aimed at advancing long-duration spaceflight. The crew’s scientific agenda, paired with their polar focus, pays homage to Roald Amundsen’s 1911 South Pole expedition, mirrored in the mission’s name and logo.
Wang’s path to space began with Bitcoin. Mining thousands of coins between 2011 and 2013 after discovering the cryptocurrency on Slashdot, he turned early adoption into a billion-dollar fortune. F2Pool, launched in 2013, remains a top mining pool, while his later venture, Stake.Fish, validates multiple blockchain protocols. Now a Maltese citizen after stints in China and South Korea, Wang has explored over 100 countries and logged 1,000 flights, timing Fram2 as his milestone flight. “Spaceflight is becoming routine, and I’m happy to see that,” he posted on X pre-launch, reflecting his view of space as the next frontier.
SpaceX’s role is pivotal. The company’s 2024 missions—Ax-3 in January, Polaris Dawn in August, and now Fram2—cement its private spaceflight dominance. The Crew Dragon Endurance, fitted with Inspiration4’s cupola, underscores SpaceX’s reusable tech, with Falcon 9 boosters reused over 300 times by May 2024. Kiko Dontchev of SpaceX noted last week that training now prepares “normal people” for such flights, a shift from NASA’s elite astronaut era. Fram2’s launch from Pad 39A, a historic Apollo site, adds symbolic weight.
The crew’s diverse expertise enhances the mission. Mikkelsen, set to be Norway’s first space traveler, brings filmmaking experience from a 2019 polar jet circumnavigation. Rogge’s robotics background supports technical experiments, while Philips’ polar guiding informs Earth observation. Their work could yield insights for future missions, though a space scientist speaking to SpaceNews questioned the short flight’s scientific depth, suggesting a dedicated satellite could collect more data for less cost.
Global crypto trends frame the event. Binance’s March 31 halt of USDT trading in Europe under MiCA rules contrasts with South Korea’s Upbit profit surge, reflecting regulatory divergence. Gate.io’s Red Bull F1 deal, also announced March 31, ties crypto to sports, but Wang’s flight ties it to exploration. Posts on X hailed it as a “Bitcoin flex,” boosting the asset’s cultural clout amid a market navigating Trump’s tariff threats and a 856 EH/s network hashrate.
Challenges persist. Spaceflight’s risks—evident in SpaceX’s 2022 Falcon 9 explosion—loom, though Fram2’s automated capsule mitigates human error. Wang’s opaque past, including a canceled Chinese hukou and multiple passports, draws scrutiny, as does Tether’s $126 million in frozen assets amid regulatory heat. Yet, his crew’s focus on climate—highlighted by a Fram ship relic from Oslo’s Fram Museum—aligns with polar melting concerns, adding a public good angle.
Wang’s launch caps a transformative Q1 2025. As Bitcoiners watch its price and miners like F2Pool adapt to a 450 BTC daily issuance post-halving, his orbit over Earth’s poles signals crypto’s reach beyond finance. Whether this inspires adoption or remains a billionaire’s adventure, Fram2 blends digital wealth with human ambition, testing both in space’s unforgiving void.
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