SpaceX is wrapping up the latest chapter in its commercial human spaceflight endeavors with the return of Fram2. The mission carried four passengers in a unique orbit around Earth that allowed humans to pass directly over the North and South poles for the first time.
Led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, who is the financier of this mission, the Fram2 crew has been free-flying through orbit since Monday.
The group splashed down at 9:19 a.m. PT, or 12:19 p.m. ET, off the coast of California — the first West Coast landing in SpaceX’s five-year history of human spaceflight missions. The company livestreamed the splashdown and recovery of the capsule on its website.
During the journey, the Fram2 crew members were slated to carry out various research projects, including capturing images of auroras from space and documenting their experiences with motion sickness.
The ailment proved to be a significant issue for the crew, according to social media posts from Wang, who made his fortune with Bitcoin mining operations and is an avid traveler on Earth.
“The first few hours in microgravity weren’t exactly comfortable,” Wang said in a post on X, the social media platform owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. “Space motion sickness hit all of us — we felt nauseous and ended up vomiting a couple of times. It felt different from motion sickness in a car or at sea. You could still read on your iPad without making it worse. But even a small sip of water could upset your stomach and trigger vomiting.”
Fortunately, Wang added, “By the second morning, I felt completely refreshed.”
The crew shared a batch of images and videos, captured from a bulbous window — or cupola — at the tip of the 13-foot-wide (4-meter-wide), gumdrop-shaped Crew Dragon capsule.
Wang said he was surprised to see that Antarctica appeared “only pure white” and “no human activity (was) visible” from his vantage point aboard the spacecraft.
Riding along with Wang were Norwegian film director Jannicke Mikkelsen, Germany-based robotics researcher Rabea Rogge and Australian adventurer Eric Philips. All four Fram2 crew members have ties to polar exploration.