Oceanside, California – SpaceX’s Fram2 mission, the first crewed flight to orbit Earth’s poles, ended Friday morning. The Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 9:19 a.m. PDT off the coast of Oceanside.

The last human return from space to the Pacific was in 1975 during NASA’s Apollo-Soyuz mission. This splashdown marks a shift for SpaceX, moving recovery operations from Florida to the Pacific to avoid land debris.

The five-day mission saw the crew orbit Earth 55 times, passing over the poles every 46 minutes. Funded privately, they conducted 22 experiments, many focused on crew health.

SpaceX confirmed the crew’s return Thursday night. The four civilians from Malta, Norway, Germany, and Australia suited up for their 8:26 a.m. deorbit.

At 9:16 a.m., four parachutes deployed at 6,500 feet, slowing the capsule from 120 mph to 16 mph. For the first time, the crew exited unassisted, carrying equipment onto the recovery vessel Shannon.

Launched Monday from Kennedy Space Center, the team included commander Chun Wang, filmmaker Janice Mikkelsen, robotics expert Rabea Rogge, and polar guide Eric Phillips. Wang, a crypto billionaire, co-founded f2poool.

The crew faced space motion sickness initially but adapted by day two. They performed the first space x-ray and brain mapping experiments, plus a glucose monitor study.

Mikkelsen shared on X about capturing polar images, promising videos post-mission. Fram2, meaning “forward” in Norwegian, honors historic polar ships, with wood from the original Fram aboard.

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