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Watch: 4 space tours onboard SpaceX capsule splash down off California coast after first flight around Earth’s poles | World News

A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four space tours splashed down off the coast of California on Friday, making hory as the first crewed mission to orbit Earth over both the North and South Poles. The landing also marked the first Dragon human spaceflight mission to splash down off the coast of California, SpaceX posted on X. 
The mission, named Fram2, was funded blockchain investor and billionaire Chun Wang, who also commanded the crew. The other crew members included Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar explorer Eric Philips.  
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Wang named the mission after the Fram, a Norwegian ship that explored the Arctic in the 19th century.
‘Space motion sickness hit all of us’
During their four-day stay in orbit, the crew shared real-time updates from 270 miles above Earth.

Splashdown of Dragon and the @framonauts confirmed – welcome back to Earth @satofishi, @astro_jannicke, @rprogge, and @Icetrek! pic.twitter.com/nkWzqenf9Q
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 4, 2025
“Space motion sickness hit all of us — we felt nauseous and ended up vomiting a couple of times,” Wang posted on X.
“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.” He further said the uneasiness had faded the second morning.
Jannicke Mikkelsen exits the Dragon capsule which carried four space tours after splash down in the Pacific. (Photo: Captured from video SpaceX, via AP)
Why splash into the Pacific?
SpaceX’s earlier crewed missions, starting with its May 2020 test flight carrying NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, all splashed down near Florida. That mission marked the debut of the upgraded Dragon 2 capsule and was followed 14 astronaut flights (nine NASA, five private) and 10 cargo missions—each safely landing in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico.Story continues below this ad
However, parts of the capsule’s trunk—the cast-away cylindrical section—started falling unpredictably around the world, including in Australia, Canada, and North Carolina. Although no injuries occurred, SpaceX revised its approach. The trunk is now released later during re-entry, allowing it to fall safely into the vast Pacific Ocean.
Recovery vessel Shannon and the Dragon capsule in the Pacific Ocea. (Photo: X/SpaceX)
The last East Coast splashdown came last month, when NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore returned after a nine-month mission extended issues with Boeing’s Starliner. The flight ended with dolphins circling the recovery boats.
Landings in the Pacific were once routine during NASA’s Apollo missions. SpaceX itself conducted 20 cargo mission splashdowns in the Pacific from 2012 to 2020, but none had carried humans — until now.
(With inputs from BBC, The New York Times)

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