On Monday, SpaceX successfully launched the Fram2 mission, sending four private astronauts into polar orbit. The event was broadcast live on the company’s livestream.

In this historic mission, Rabea Rogge has become the first German woman to venture into space.

The mission entails a journey around the Earth, passing over both poles – a path that has never been taken by humans before.

This privately funded, days-long orbital mission was launched at 9:46pm ET on Monday (0146 GMT Tuesday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It traveled aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which was atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

The mission is under the leadership of Chinese-born Maltese entrepreneur Chun Wang. The rest of the crew includes Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips.

Rogge is a robotics researcher.

More to follow…

Edited by John Silk