THE Spacex Fram2 Mission launched this Monday (31) has as destination to the polar orbit of the earth, something never done before . The route the spacecraft will make is used by satellites because it is lower than the others, allowing a better mapping of the areas .
The route will go through the two poles of our planet – north and south – contrary to what other spacecraft do, which is to follow the Ecuador line. The one day mission is taking four payers to the space: a cryptocurrency billionaire and three guests.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the polar orbit is made at low altitudes, between 200 and 1,000 kilometers from our surface.
“[Elas] They are particularly useful for the global coverage of the Earth, as the satellites that orbit ‘up’ and ‘down’ can see every inch of the surface over time, while the planet rotates below, ”says the organization’s website.
Still, ESA explains that the ship does not necessarily pass exactly over the north and south poles, as deviations up to 10 are accepted to be classified into a polar orbit.
Launching a group of people – or satellites – in an orbital trajectory that surrounds the north and south poles is not an easy task and is rarely done from Florida.
Launching sites on the east coast are ideal for missions that travel directly to the east, because the rotation of the earth can give the rockets flying in this direction a significant natural impulse. But FRAM2 had to be launched south.
Learn more about the mission.
*With information from Jackie Wattle, from CNN Internacional
This content was originally published in Understand what Polar orbit is, destination of Spacex’s new mission on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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