SpaceX launched its Fram2 mission on Monday, becoming the first crewed flight to take a polar orbit.
Mission commander Chun Wang, who also funded the flight, has just posted a few early observations about the four crewmember’s experiences in space.
In a message shared on X, Wang said that the ride to orbit was “much smoother than I had anticipated,” adding: “I barely felt any G-forces — it honestly felt like just another flight. I had imagined it would feel like being in an elevator that suddenly drops, but that sensation never came.”
But the billionaire entrepreneur, on his first space flight, also revealed that the first few hours in microgravity conditions haven’t been “exactly comfortable.”
Wang explained: “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.”
Astronauts are provided with specially designed barf bags that have sealing mechanisms to capture and contain vomit safely, as you really don’t want it floating freely around your spacecraft.
Feeling a little woozy, the four crewmembers decided to get some shut-eye a bit earlier than scheduled last night, and after a good sleep, they now feel much better.
“The trace of motion sickness is all gone,” Wang said. “We had breakfast, took a few X-ray images, and opened the cupola three minutes after midnight UTC — right above the South Pole.”
It’s actually normal for astronauts to feel nauseous after first experiencing microgravity conditions, with up to 80% of them reporting such a condition during their first few days in orbit.
In microgravity, the brain receives conflicting signals from the vestibular system (inner ear), which senses balance and motion, and also visual inputs. On Earth, gravity helps the vestibular system orient the body, but in space, the lack of gravitational cues creates confusion, which can lead to bouts of nausea and vomiting.
Additionally, the absence of gravity causes bodily fluids to shift upward toward the head, which can increase pressure in the inner ear, potentially altering vestibular responses and contributing to motion sickness.
Here’s hoping the Fram2 crew are well and truly done with the throwing up so that they can enjoy the awesome views from 265 miles above the North and South Poles.