Chun Wang
Chun Wang | |
|---|---|
王纯 | |
| Born | 1982 (age 43–44) |
| Citizenship |
|
| Known for | Cryptocurrency Private astronaut aboard Fram2 |
| Relatives | |
| Space career | |
| Commercial astronaut | |
Time in space | 3 days, 14 hours, 32 minutes |
| Missions | Fram2 |
Chun Wang (Chinese: 王纯; pinyin: Wáng Chún[1]) is a Chinese-born Maltese-Kittitian cryptocurrency investor who co-founded F2Pool, one of the first Bitcoin mining pools in China.[2][3][4]
Life and career
[edit]Born around 1982,[5] Wang was born in Tianjin, China. He first travelled beyond his hometown in his early 20s, and his first trip abroad he was 28.[6] Dropping out of university, he held several software programming jobs in China.[7] In 2011, he borrowed $40,000 from his father to invest in early cryptocurrency ventures, experiencing financial loss in the first months. He had made gains by 2013, co-founding F2Pool. He launched the crypto venture Stakefish in 2018.[6] For a time, F2Pool was the world's largest bitcoin mining operation.[5]
Private spaceflight
[edit]On March 31 (April 1 UTC), 2025 the Fram2 mission of a Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched. It was the first human flight to go a polar retrograde orbit,[8] i.e., to fly over Earth's poles.[2] The mission lasted 3.5 days, ending on 4 April 2025 at 16:19:28 UTC (9:19:28 a.m. PDT, local time at the landing site). It was the first Pacific splashdown for a Crew Dragon mission.
Fram2 was privately funded and commanded by Wang, and operated by SpaceX with a Crew Dragon spacecraft. In addition to Wang, it flew his all-civilian crew — Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge and Eric Philips. He had conceived the idea of a polar spaceflight in 2023, proposing it to SpaceX. The crew conducted 22 experiments focused on human health and space exploration technology, including the first X-ray in space.[9] A Maltese citizen since August 2023, he became the first person from Malta to travel to space. It was also the first time non-Americans participated in a civilian spaceflight. He and the crew spent two months of training at SpaceX headquarters in California.[6] Wang, outlining a goal to visit every country on earth, scheduled the space trip to be his 1,000th flight.[10]
On May 21, 2026, Wang announced that he was going on the first manned interplanetary mission to Mars, which will last two years and fly by the planet without landing. He also plans to participate in a lunar mission alongside Dennis Tito at an unspecified date.[11]
Personal life
[edit]He moved to Thailand in 2015, then to South Korea. He has been a citizen of Malta[12] since August 2023 and Saint Kitts and Nevis since 2017.[13]
References
[edit]- ↑ "华裔富豪王纯出资 SpaceX首载人绕飞地球南北极".
- 1 2 Foust, Jeff (2024-08-13). "Crypto entrepreneur buys Crew Dragon flight". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ↑ "ASICs and entrepreneurs: The founding of China's first mining pool". f2pool. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ↑ Harwood, William (2024-08-13). "SpaceX to launch bitcoin entrepreneur and three crewmates on flight around Earth's poles - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- 1 2 "Meet 42-year-old Chun Wang, crypto investor who bought SpaceX flight to circle around Earth". www.telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph India. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Chun Wang to become first Maltese citizen in space with historic polar orbit mission". BusinessDay. Lagos, Nigeria. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ↑ "Meet Chun Wang, the first Maltese citizen in space". www.timesofmalta.com. Times of Malta. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ↑ McDowell, Jonathan [@planet4589] (April 1, 2025). "First Space Force orbit data for Fram-2 out, showing it in a 202 x 413 km x 90.01 deg orbit" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ↑ "Explorer, filmmaker, scientist, and a Bitcoin investor: Meet the SpaceX Fram2 crew making space history". indiatimes.com. The Economic Times. April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ↑ "Bitcoin tycoon Chun Wang blasts off on polar SpaceX flight to achieve world first". www.sky.com. Sky News. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
- ↑ "SpaceX Updates". www.spacex.com. SpaceX. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
- ↑ Sheetz, Michael (2024-08-13). "Crypto magnate buys SpaceX mission for private polar spaceflight expedition". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
- ↑ "fram2: First Human Spaceflight To Earth's Polar Regions". f2.com. Retrieved 2025-03-11.