2024 in spaceflight explained

Year:2024
First:1 January
Last:4 December
Total:235
Success:229
Failed:4
Partial:2
Catalogued:226
Firstsat:
    Firsttrav:
      Maidens:
      Retired:
      Orbital:9
      Orbitcrew:28
      Suborbital:5
      Suborbitcrew:30
      Totalcrew:58
      Programme:Timeline of spaceflight
      Previous Mission:2023
      Next Mission:2025

      For the fourth year in a row, new world records were set for both orbital launch attempts and successful orbital launches. So far, the year saw the successful first launch of Vulcan Centaur, Gravity-1, Ariane 6 (partially successful), and notably more developmental launches of SpaceX's Starship, including the first ever landing on Flight 5. Additionally, the final launch of a Delta family rocket occurred in April with a Delta IV Heavy. In May, China launched the Chang'e 6, the first sample return from the far side of the Moon. The Polaris Dawn mission conducted the first ever commercial spacewalk in September.

      In terms of other national-level scientific space missions, NASA's Europa Clipper probe, and ESA's Hera probes launched in October 2024. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter ended operation in January due to damages to rotor blades after its 72nd flight. This year is also had multiple lunar landing attempts. JAXA's SLIM and Intuitive Machines' IM-1 successfully survived soft-landings on the Moon but were tipped over during final moments of descent.

      Two crewed space stations, the International Space Station (ISS) and Tiangong, are in operation in 2024. In terms of crewed missions, the ISS will be visited by Expedition 70, 71, and 72, while Shenzhou 18 and 19 will visit Tiangong. The ISS also hosted the private crew of Axiom Mission 3.

      This year saw Alper Gezeravcı become the first Turkish astronaut, as a crew member on the Axiom Mission 3. Belarus also had its first citizen reach space, when cosmonaut Maryna Vasileuskaya launched on Soyuz MS-25 (not counting Pyotr Klimuk, Vladimir Kovalyonok, and Oleg Novitsky who were Soviet or Russian citizens of Belarusian origin when they traveled to space). In addition, British citizen Nicolina Elrick became the first ethnic Singaporean to reach space when Blue Origin NS-26 soared past the Kármán line on 2024 August 29th.

      Overview

      Astronomy and astrophysics

      On New Year's Day at 3:40 UTC marking the first launch of the new year, ISRO launched their XPoSat for studying X-ray polarization. It will serve as a complement to the present IXPE probe of NASA.[1] [2] [3] Later the ISRO's Aditya-L1 spacecraft launched 5 months previously was inserted into a halo orbit around the Earth-Sun L1 point on 6 January. It will study the solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on the environment around Earth.

      Einstein Probe, X-ray space telescope mission by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in partnership with ESA and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) dedicated to time-domain high-energy astrophysics, was launched on 9 January 2024.[4]

      In April 2024, NASA began, under the direction of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to create a standard for time on the Moon, it is called Coordinated Lunar Time and is expected to be completed by 2026.

      The Space Variable Objects Monitor is a small X-ray telescope satellite for studying the explosions of massive stars by analysing the resulting gamma-ray bursts, developed by China National Space Administration (CNSA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the French Space Agency (CNES),[5] launched on 22 June 2024 (07:00:00 UTC).

      European Space Agency launched their PROBA-3 dual satellites for solar coronagraphy on 4 December 2024 on a PSLV-XL rocket.

      Exploration of the Solar System

      NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity flew its 72nd and last flight on 18 January. Because all four of its rotor blades were damaged, NASA announced the end of mission for Ingenuity on 25 January.[6]

      On 7 October, the Hera spacecraft was launched successfully. It will arrive at the asteroid Didymos in 2026 after Mars flyby, where it will study the effects of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

      NASA's Europa Clipper launched on 14 October and will study the Jovian moon Europa while in orbit around Jupiter.

      Lunar exploration

      Artemis Program

      Rocket stacking operations for the Artemis 2 mission began in November, a critical step towards launch in 2025.

      Peregrine

      Peregrine lunar lander was successfully launched on 8 January, but after the launch a propellant leak was detected that precluded any attempt to perform a lunar landing. In the end, the Peregrine spacecraft never left the (highly elliptical) Earth orbit it was injected into by the carrier rocket, and the mission ended ten days later (after one orbit) on 18 January when the spacecraft re-entered the Earth's atmosphere (under control of the mission team) and was destroyed.

      SLIM

      SLIM achieved the first-ever lunar soft landing for a Japanese spacecraft.[7] It landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the 5th country to soft land on the Moon.[8] Although it landed successfully, it landed on its side with the solar panels oriented westwards facing opposite the Sun at the start of lunar day, thereby failing to generate enough power.[9] The lander operated on an internal battery power, which was fully drained that day.[10]

      Irrespective of this solar array issue on lander, the two LEV 1 and 2 rovers, deployed during hovering just before final landing worked as expected, with LEV-1 communicating independently to the ground stations. LEV-1 conducted seven hops over 107 minutes on lunar surface. Images taken by LEV-2 show the wrong attitude landing with loss of an engine nozzle during descent and even possible sustained damage to lander's Earth bound antenna, that is not pointed towards Earth. Irrespective of wrong attitude and loss of communication with the lander, the mission was fully successful after confirmation of its primary goal landing within of its landing spot was already achieved.[11] [12]

      On 29 January, the lander resumed operations after being shut down for a week. JAXA said it re-established contact with the lander and its solar cells were working again after a shift in lighting conditions allowed it to catch sunlight.[13] After that, SLIM was put in sleep mode for impending harsh lunar night. While SLIM was expected to operate only for one lunar daylight period, or 14 Earth days, with its on-board electronics not designed to withstand the -120C nighttime temperatures on the Moon, it managed to survive 3 lunar nights, waking up on 25 February, 27 March and 24 April respectively, sending back more data and images. This feat of surviving lunar night without a radioisotope heater unit was only previously achieved by some landers in the Surveyor program.[14] [15] [16] [17]

      Nova-C

      IM-1 Nova-C Odysseus launched on 15 February 2024 towards the Moon via Falcon 9 on a direct intercept trajectory and later landed in the south polar region of the Moon on 22 February 2024 and became the first successful private lander and the first to do so using cryogenic propellants. Though it landed successfully, one of the lander's legs broke upon landing and it tilted up on other side, 18° due to landing on a slope, but the lander survived and payloads were functioning as expected.[18]

      Just before landing, at approximately above the lunar surface, the Odysseus lander was planned to eject the EagleCam camera-equipped CubeSat, which would have been dropped onto the lunar surface near the lander, with an impact velocity of about . However, due to complications arising from the software patch, it was decided that EagleCam would not be ejected upon landing. It was later ejected on 28 February returning all types of data, except post IM-1 landing images that were the main aim of its mission.[19] [20] [21] [22]

      The lander also includes the Lunar Library that contains a version of the English Wikipedia, artworks, selections from the Internet Archive, portions of the Project Gutenberg, and more. It is projected to reside on the Moon in a readable state for billions of years.[23] [24]

      China Lunar Exploration Program

      See main article: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. On 13 March, China attempted to launch two spacecrafts, DRO-A and DRO-B, into distant retrograde orbit around the Moon, but the mission failed to reach the strived for orbit, remaining stranded in a highly eliptical low Earth orbit.[25] [26] Tracking data appears to show China attempted to salvage the spacecraft and they appear to have succeeded in reaching their desired orbit.[27] [28]

      On 20 March, China launched its relay satellite, Queqiao-2, to lunar orbit, along with two mini satellites Tiandu 1 and 2. Queqiao-2 will relay communications for the Chang'e 6 (far side of the Moon), Chang'e 7 and Chang'e 8 (Lunar south pole region) spacecrafts. Tiandu 1 and 2 will test technologies for a future lunar navigation and positioning constellation.[29] All the three probes entered lunar orbit successfully on 24 March 2024 (Both were attached to each other and separated in lunar orbit on 3 April 2024).[30] [31]

      China sent Chang'e 6 on 3 May 2024, which conducted the first lunar sample return from Apollo Basin on the far side of the Moon.[32] This is China's second lunar sample return mission, the first was achieved by Chang'e 5 from the lunar near side four years earlier.[33] It carries several international payloads as well as an un-(pre)announced Chinese mini-rover called Jinchan to conduct infrared spectroscopy of lunar surface and imaged Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface.[34] The lander-ascender-rover combination was separated from the orbiter and returner before landing on 1 June 2024 at 22:23 UTC. It landed on the Moon's surface on 1 June 2024.[35] [36] The ascender was launched back to lunar orbit on 3 June 2024 at 23:38 UTC, carrying samples collected by the lander, and completed rendezvous and docking with the waiting orbiter in lunar orbit. The sample container was transferred to the returner, which landed in Inner Mongolia on 25 June 2024, completing China's lunar far side sample return mission.Pakistan sent a lunar orbiter called ICUBE-Q along with Chang'e 6. The lander also placed a small national flag of China, made of basalt, a substance that occurs in vast quantities on the Moon's surface, to demonstrate the spirit of in situ resource utilization.[37] After dropping off the return samples for Earth, the Chang'e 6 (CE-6) orbiter was successfully captured by the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point on 9 September 2024.[38]

      Future

      DARPA provided funding towards a forward looking 10 year lunar architecture proposals. Aimed at creating the beginning stages of a lunar economy the DARPA lunar programs is participated in by many current industry leaders.

      Human spaceflight

      On 4 February, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko broke the world record for the most time spent in space, when he surpassed the previous record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds held by retired cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.[39] After Kononenko returned on 23 September, the new records stands at 1110 days, 14 hours and 57 minutes.[40]

      On 5 June, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft conducted its crewed test flight.[41] Sunita Williams became the first woman to fly on the maiden crewed flight of an orbital spacecraft (for a suborbital spacecraft, similar feat was accomplished by Wally Funk on Blue Origin NS-16 mission of New Shepard).

      On 11 September, following the launch of Soyuz MS-26, a record breaking 19 people were simultaneously in orbit around Earth. In addition to the crew of MS-26, this included the crews of Polaris Dawn, Boe-CFT, SpaceX Crew-8, Soyuz MS-25 and Shenzhou 18.

      Private human spaceflight and space tourism

      SpaceX launched Axiom Mission 3 aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) on 18 January 2024. The successful mission ended with a splashdown on 9 February 2024.

      On 26 January,[42] Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity was successfully launched from Spaceport America on Galactic 06 suborbital space tourism mission. Galactic 07 launched on 8 June, the final flight of Unity suborbital spaceplane.

      Blue Origin's New Shepard also returned to suborbital space tourism launches with the successful NS-25 mission on 19 May. The next mission, NS-26, took place on 29 August and NS-28, that took place on 22 November.[43]

      Polaris Dawn, featuring the first commercial spacewalk, launched on September 10 09:23 UTC. On September 11, the spacecraft reached an altitude of 1400 km, which is farther from Earth than any person has been since Apollo 17.[44]

      Rocket innovation

      The maiden flight of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur took place on 8 January 2024. Vulcan is the first methane fueled rocket to reach orbit on its first attempt, and the first methane fueled rocket to reach orbit from the US.[45]

      China's Orienspace's Gravity-1 rocket completed its successful maiden flight on 11 January 2024, debuting on a new mobile sea platform in the Yellow Sea while breaking records as both the world's largest solid-fuel carrier rocket and China's most powerful commercial launch vehicle to date (as of early 2024).

      On 5 March, for the first time due to their fast turnaround of 1 hour 51 minutes between launches, SpaceX launch operations for a mission (in this case, Starlink Group 6-41) coincided with that of a preceding launch (in this case, payload deployment of Transporter-10:(53 payloads SmallSat Rideshare).[46]

      On 13 March, the KAIROS rocket from Space One company attempted its maiden flight. The rocket was destroyed in an explosion five seconds after lift-off. No injuries were caused by the explosion.

      On 11 April, another test flight of the Russian Angara A5 launched, with the Orion upper stage being used for the first time.[47] [48]

      On 7 May, Long March 6C flew its successful maiden mission.

      SpaceX's Starship launched its fourth integrated flight test (IFT-4) on June 6, 2024. The launch resulted in the successful controlled splashdown of both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship vehicle.[49]

      In June, Stoke Space tested its full flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) engine with a successful hotfire, the test marks only the fourth FFSC engine to have made it far enough in development to reach hotfire.[50]

      The maiden launch of Ariane 6 occurred on 9 July, but it was a partial failure as though CubeSats were deployed correctly, but the second stage failed to relight due to an anomaly with an auxiliary power unit.[51] [52] The second stage could not be deorbited and payloads studying and testing re-entry could not be deployed.[53]

      On 13 October, Starship flew its fifth orbital flight test during which, for the first time, the first stage booster was recovered. This makes Super Heavy the second ever orbital class rocket booster to be recovered by the use of retropropulsive landing (first being the Falcon 9 booster).

      The maiden flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn is planned for November.[54] Initial rollout of the vehicle and testing was completed in February[55] and in May Blue Origin planned to conduct additional testing in preparation for launch.[56] On June 12 Blue Origin received the communications license necessary for the flight.[57]

      Satellite technology

      Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem or PACE, a NASA Earth-observing satellite, launched on 8 February 2024.

      In March, China successfully launched the Queqiao-2 relay satellite mission. The satellite is designed to act as a communication relay between Chang’e missions (including the Chang'e 6) and Earth. The satellite was announced as operational in April.

      In April, NASA launched a next-generation solar sail demonstration aboard a Rocket Lab Electron.[58] [59]

      ESA EarthCARE launched on May 28. Joint mission with JAXA.

      NASA's GOES-U launched on June 25, with the capability to detect coronal mass ejections.

      JAXA's ALOS-4 launched on July 1. It carries PALSAR-3 (Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-3).

      Orbital launches

      See main article: List of spaceflight launches in January–June 2024 and List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2024.

      Numbers of orbital launches!Month!Successes!Failures!Partial failures
      January2200
      February1900
      March2011
      April1900
      May2510
      June1700
      July1021
      August2100
      September2300
      October1900
      November3000
      December400
      Total22942

      Launches from the Moon

      |}

      Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

      See also: List of spacewalks since 2015.

      Space debris events

      See also: List of space debris producing events.

      Orbital launch statistics

      By country

      For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Electron rockets launched from the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand are counted under the United States because Electron is an American rocket. For a launch attempt to be considered orbital it must be trying to achieve a positive perigee. For this reason the fourth and fifth flight tests of Starship are not included in the orbital statistics for 2024. Launches from the Moon are not included in the statistics.

      CountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial
      failures
      Remarks
      61 59 1 1
      2 1 0 1
      3 3 0 0
      3 3 0 0
      0 0 0 0
      6 5 1 0
      1 0 1 0
      16 16 0 0
      143 142 1 0 Includes Electron launches from Māhia
      World 235 229 4 2

      By rocket

      By family

      By type

      By configuration

      By spaceport

      SiteCountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresRemarks
      Baikonur 7 7 0 0
      64 64 0 0
      Jiuquan 19 18 1 0
      Kennedy 22 22 0 0
      Kii 1 0 1 0 First launch
      Kourou 2 1 0 1
      Māhia 12 12 0 0
      MARS 1 1 0 0
      Palmachim 0 0 0 0
      Plesetsk 5 5 0 0
      3 3 0 0
      Semnan 1 1 0 0
      Shahroud 2 2 0 0
      Sohae 1 0 1 0
      South China Sea 2 2 0 0
      Starbase 2 2 0 0
      Taiyuan 11 11 0 0
      Tanegashima 5 5 0 0
      Vandenberg 42 41 1 0
      Vostochny 4 4 0 0
      8 8 0 0
      Xichang 18 17 0 1
      Yellow Sea 3 3 0 0
      Total 235 229 4 2

      By orbit

      Orbital regimeLaunchesAchievedNot achievedAccidentally
      achieved
      Remarks
      Transatmospheric 2 1 1 0
      Low Earth / Sun-synchronous 198 195 3 1 Including flights to ISS and Tiangong (CSS)
      22 22 0 0
      Medium Earth / Molniya 5 5 0 0
      High Earth / Lunar transfer 5 4 1 0
      Heliocentric orbit / Planetary transfer 3 3 0 0
      Total 235 230 5 1

      Suborbital launch statistics

      By country

      For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of suborbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. Flights intended to fly below are omitted.

      CountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial
      failures
      Remarks
      align=left 2 2 0 0 align=left
      align=left 11 11 0 0 align=left
      align=left 1 1 0 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 2 2 0 0 align=left
      align=left 3 3 0 0 align=left
      align=left 301 301 0 0 align=left From the 2024 Iranian strikes in Israel
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 1 1 0 0 align=left
      align=left 1 0 0 1 align=left
      align=left 5 5 0 0 align=left
      align=left 1 1 0 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 3 2 1 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left
      nowrap align=left 33 32 1 0 align=left
      nowrap align=left 0 0 0 0 align=left -->
      nowrap align=left 3 3 0 0 align=left
      World 367 364 2 1

      Maiden orbital flights

      RocketOriginOrganizationLaunchOutcomeRef.
      United StatesULA8 January[87]
      ChinaOrienspace11 January[88]
      JapanSpace One13 March[89]
      ChinaCASC7 May[90]
      Roscosmos11 April[91]
      New-type satellite carrier rocket NATA/Khrunichev27 May[92]
      9 July[93]
      Zhuque-2E ChinaLandSpace27 November[94]
      Long March 12 ChinaCASC30 November [95]
      Kuaizhou 1A Pro ChinaCASIC4 December[96]
      New Glenn United StatesBlue OriginDecember[97]

      Notes and References

      1. Web site: Majkowska . Iwona . ISRO Plans Mars Lander Mission After Successful Lunar Mission . 26 September 2023 . 13 November 2023 . 13 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231113085830/https://ts2.space/en/isro-plans-mars-lander-mission-after-successful-lunar-mission/ . dead .
      2. Web site: ISRO set to launch Shukrayaan and XPoSat missions to exploring the universe's mysteries . 7 October 2023 . 4 November 2023 . Hindustan Times . 4 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231104193219/https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/isro-set-to-launch-shukrayaan-and-xposat-missions-to-exploring-the-universes-mysteries-71696664062649.html . live .
      3. Web site: Halo-Orbit Insertion of Aditya-L1 Successfully Accomplished . 2024-01-06 . www.isro.gov.in . 6 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240106153126/https://www.isro.gov.in/halo-orbit-insertion-adtya-l1.html . live .
      4. Web site: Einstein Probe lifts off on a mission to monitor the X-ray sky. www.esa.int. 9 January 2024. 9 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240109092739/https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/01/Einstein_Probe_lifts_off_on_a_mission_to_monitor_the_X-ray_sky. live.
      5. Web site: Lobster-inspired £3.8m super lightweight mirror chosen for Chinese-French space mission. University of Leicester. 26 October 2015. 20 May 2021 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210128093757/https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2015/october/lobster-inspired-ps3-8m-super-lightweight-mirror-chosen-for-chinese-french-space-mission . 28 Jan 2021 .
      6. Web site: After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends . . 26 January 2024 . 25 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240125203205/https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/after-three-years-on-mars-nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-mission-ends . live .
      7. Web site: Japan makes contact with 'Moon Sniper' on lunar surface . . 19 January 2024 . 19 January 2024 . 19 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240119141934/https://www.bbc.com/news/live/science-environment-68019846 . live .
      8. News: Chang . Kenneth . 2024-01-19 . Japan Becomes Fifth Country to Land on the Moon . . 20 January 2024 . 20 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240120151635/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/12/science/japan-moon-landing-slim . live .
      9. Web site: According to the telemetry data, SLIM's solar cells are facing west. So if sunlight begins to shine on the lunar surface from the west, there is a possibility of generating power, and we are preparing for recovery. #SLIM can operate with power only from the solar cells. #JAXA . X (Formerly Twitter) . 22 January 2024 . 17 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240217223131/https://twitter.com/SLIM_JAXA/status/1749320575103995954?s=20 . live .
      10. News: Sample . Ian . 2024-01-19 . Japan's Slim spacecraft lands on moon but struggles to generate power . 2024-01-20 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077 . 19 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240119193545/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/jan/19/japan-slim-spacecraft-lands-on-moon-but-struggles-to-generate-power . live .
      11. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-01-22 . Japan's moon lander forced to power down but may yet be revived . 2024-01-25 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      12. Web site: SLIM Project Press Kit . JAXA . 25 January 2024 . 8 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075454/https://global.jaxa.jp/countdown/slim/SLIM-mediakit-EN_2308.pdf . live .
      13. News: Japan: Moon lander Slim comes back to life and resumes mission . 29 January 2024 . 2024-01-31 . www.bbc.com.
      14. Web site: Last night I sent a command and got a response from SLIM. SLIM successfully survived the night on the lunar surface while maintaining communication capabilities! Last night, as it was still midday on the moon, the temperature of the communication equipment was extremely high, so communication was terminated after only a short period of time. From now on, preparations will be made so that observations can be resumed once the temperature has fallen sufficiently. . X (Formerly Twitter) . 26 February 2024 . 26 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240226052416/https://twitter.com/SLIM_JAXA/status/1761973417820238275 . live .
      15. Web site: 2024-03-28 . Japan Moon probe survives second lunar night: Space agency . 2024-03-28 . Moneycontrol . en . 28 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240328024627/https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world/japan-moon-probe-survives-second-lunar-night-space-agency-12534391.html . live .
      16. Web site: Still alive! Japan's SLIM moon lander survives its 2nd lunar night (photo) . Space.com . March 27, 2024 . 30 April 2024 . 25 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240425152709/https://www.space.com/japan-slim-moon-lander-survives-second-lunar-night . live .
      17. Web site: Crane . Leah . Japan's SLIM moon lander has shockingly survived a third lunar night . New Scientist . 25 April 2024.
      18. Web site: 2024-02-28 . NASA, Intuitive Machines Share Images from the Moon, Provide Science Updates – Artemis . 2024-02-29 . blogs.nasa.gov . en-US . 29 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240229055641/https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2024/02/28/nasa-intuitive-machines-share-images-from-the-moon-provide-science-updates/ . live .
      19. Web site: 2/3 mission plans and procedures in order to deploy its CubeSat camera system. Despite the team's strong effort, the technical complications ultimately resulted in an inability to capture images of the Odysseus lander. . 29 February 2024 . 13 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240613150509/https://x.com/SpaceTechLab/status/1762979276360479156?s=20 . live .
      20. Web site: Foust . Jeff . Intuitive Machines ready for launch of its first lunar lander . . 13 February 2024 . 14 February 2024 . 23 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223172200/https://spacenews.com/intuitive-machines-ready-for-launch-of-its-first-lunar-lander/ . live .
      21. Web site: Greshko . Michael . 9 February 2024 . Second Private U.S. Moon Lander Readies for Launch . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221182546/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/second-private-u-s-moon-lander-readies-for-launch/ . 21 February 2024 . 9 February 2024 . Scientific American . en.
      22. Web site: February 23, 2024 . EagleCam update statement . Twitter.
      23. Web site: Spivack . Nova . Third Time's a Charm — Lunar Library Successfully Lands on the Moon — Backup of Human Civilization… . Medium . 12 May 2024 . en . 6 March 2024 . 12 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240512221929/https://medium.com/@novaspivack/third-times-a-charm-lunar-library-successfully-lands-on-the-moon-backup-of-human-civilization-0d469024aa72 . live .
      24. Web site: Galactic Legacy Archive . Arch Mission Foundation - Preserving humanity forever, in space and on Earth. . 12 May 2024 . 23 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223135720/https://www.archmission.org/galactic-legacy-archive . live .
      25. Web site: Status of "DRO-A/B" . 14 March 2024 . Next Spaceflight . 15 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240315004509/https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/7529 . live .
      26. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-03-14 . Surprise Chinese lunar mission hit by launch anomaly . 2024-03-14 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      27. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-08-20 . Chinese spacecraft appear to reach lunar orbit despite launch setback . 2024-08-20 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      28. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-03-28 . China appears to be trying to save stricken spacecraft from lunar limbo . 2024-03-29 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      29. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-03-14 . China launches Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support moon missions . 2024-03-20 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      30. Web site: 探月工程里程碑:天都二号卫星成功应用冷气微推进系统 . 2024-04-04 . Weixin Official Accounts Platform . 4 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240404154303/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA4ODM1ODU0OA

        &mid=2653749333&idx=2&sn=6a400906c49236d7a7a1f06fb14e4681&chksm=8bf2cbaebc8542b839ea8a8e55b2003b8049540daccf37c1b96cfe9a6ed8aae7d25cba89f35f#rd

        . live .
      31. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-03-25 . China's Queqiao-2 relay satellite enters lunar orbit . 2024-03-26 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      32. Andrew Jones . AJ_FI . 1650832520978526208 . China's Chang'e-6 sample return mission (a first ever lunar far side sample-return) is scheduled to launch in May 2024, and expected to take 53 days from launch to return module touchdown. Targeting southern area of Apollo basin (~43º S, 154º W) . 25 April 2023.
      33. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission . . 10 January 2024 . 10 January 2024 . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503100724/https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-probe-arrives-at-spaceport-for-first-ever-lunar-far-side-sample-mission/ . live .
      34. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China's Chang'e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon . SpaceNews . 8 May 2024 . 6 May 2024 . 8 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240508193233/https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-is-carrying-a-surprise-rover-to-the-moon/ . live .
      35. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Chang'e-6 lands on far side of the moon to collect unique lunar samples . . 1 June 2024 . 1 June 2024 . 2 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181912/https://spacenews.com/change-6-lands-on-far-side-of-the-moon-to-collect-unique-lunar-samples/ . live .
      36. Seger Yu . SegerYu . 1797042217804337307 . 落月时刻 2024-06-02 06:23:15.861 . zh .
      37. Web site: Chinese Flag on far Side of Moon May Remain Intact for 10,000 Years----Chinese Academy of Sciences . 2024-06-11 . english.cas.cn.
      38. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-09-10 . Chang'e-6 orbiter turns up at Sun-Earth Lagrange point after moon sampling mission . 2024-09-10 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      39. Web site: Kassam . Ashifa . Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko sets world record for most time spent in space . The Guardian . 4 February 2024 . 6 March 2024.
      40. Web site: Cosmonaut Biography: Oleg D. Kononenko . 2024-09-23 . spacefacts.de.
      41. Web site: Howell . Elizabeth . Boeing's Starliner launches astronauts for 1st time in historic liftoff (photos, video) . . June 5, 2024 . June 9, 2024 . 7 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240607234443/https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-crew-flight-test-launch . live .
      42. Jonathan McDowell . planet4589 . 1750973689204764824 . The @VirginGalactic Galactic 06 mission was launched from the WK02 carrier plane at 1742:05 UTC Jan 26 following takeoff around 1700 UTC. After a one minute rocket burn, SS2 reached an apogee of 88.8 km and landed after an approximately 14 minute free flight. (1/2) . 26 January 2024.
      43. Web site: Foust . Jeff . August 29, 2024 . Blue Origin flies NASA-funded scientist and space tourists on New Shepard suborbital flight . 2024-08-29 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      44. SpaceX . 1833734681545879844 . Polaris Dawn and Dragon at 1,400 km above Earth – the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program over 50 years ago . 11 September 2024.
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      46. Web site: Liftoff of 23 @Starlink satellites from Florida while Transporter-10's second stage coasts through space ahead of its final payload deploys . X (Formerly Twitter).
      47. Web site: Davenport . Justin . 2024-04-08 . Launch Roundup: Delta IV swan song, Angara test flight from Russia, and three Falcon 9 flights . 2024-04-09 . NASASpaceFlight.com . en-US . 18 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240418012821/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/04/launch-roundup-040824/ . live .
      48. Web site: LAUNCH! Angara A5 finally launches on its first flight from Vostochny. . 11 April 2024 . 14 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240614021909/https://x.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1778348166615605454 . live .
      49. Web site: Foust . Jeff . 2024-06-06 . Starship survives reentry during fourth test flight . 2024-06-06 . SpaceNews . en-US . June 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240606222417/https://spacenews.com/starship-survives-reentry-during-fourth-test-flight/ . live .
      50. Web site: Foust . Jeff . 2024-06-11 . Stoke Space test-fires new booster engine . 2024-06-16 . SpaceNews . en-US.
      51. 1810791073272492464 . planet4589 . Anomaly on the Ariane 6 mission: the APU did not properly restart in the second coast phase. The APU operation affects the orbital parameters, and these did not change as expected. Unclear if the deorbit burn can be performed. . Jonathan . McDowell . Jonathan McDowell . 9 July 2024.
      52. News: Amos . Jonathan . 2024-07-10 . Europe's Ariane-6 rocket blasts off on maiden flight . 2024-07-10 . BBC . en-GB.
      53. 1810812852292165927 . AndrewParsonson . Ending off the press conference, Martin Sion confirmed that the upper stage can not be deorbited. Considering ESA's recent focus on its Zero Debris charter, this isn't a great look. Sion was also surprisingly flippant in his response to how long the stage would remain in orbit. . Andrew . Parsonson . 10 July 2024.
      54. Web site: New Glenn Maiden Flight . 2024-09-10 . nextspaceflight.com . en.
      55. Web site: Atkinson . Ian . 2024-03-07 . New Glenn completes initial cryogenic testing at Launch Complex 36 . 2024-05-29 . NASASpaceFlight.com . en-US . 29 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240529052109/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/03/new-glenn-cryo-tests/ . live .
      56. 1793766888725475523 . blueorigin . We're rolling out our New Glenn simulator again today for a series of transport erector integrated ground tests in preparation for launch later this year. Tests will include powering up the pumps that provide pressure to the vehicle hydraulic system, validating the ground system supplying commodities to the rocket, and a rapid retract test of the umbilical connections. More to come. . Blue Origin . Blue Origin . 24 May 2024 . 29 May 2024 . https://archive.today/20240823173133/https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1793766888725475523 . 23 August 2024 . live .
      57. 1800910962486079574 . FccSpace . License granted: Blue Origin Florida, LLC Dates: 06/12/2024-10/31/2024 Purpose: Testing will be for the first launch and certification flight of New Glenn, to includ(...) . FCC Space Licenses . 12 June 2024 . 13 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240613031733/https://x.com/FccSpace/status/1800910962486079574 . 13 June 2024 . live .
      58. Web site: 2024-04-10 . NASA Next-Generation Solar Sail Boom Technology Ready for Launch - NASA . 2024-04-12 . en-US . 12 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240412055448/https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasa-next-generation-solar-sail-boom-technology-ready-for-launch/ . live .
      59. Web site: Mike Wall . 2024-04-23 . Watch Rocket Lab launch new NASA solar sail tech to orbit today . 2024-04-23 . Space.com . en . 23 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423214253/https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-nasa-solar-sail-tech-launch-april-2024 . live .
      60. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Japan makes history with tense, successful moon landing . 19 January 2024 . 19 January 2024 . SpaceNews.com.
      61. Web site: Fisher . Jackie Wattles, Kristin . 2024-01-08 . Peregrine mission abandons Moon landing attempt after suffering 'critical' fuel loss . 2024-01-09 . CNN . en . 8 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240108230807/https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/world/peregrine-lunar-lander-anomaly-astrobotic-nasa-scn/index.html . live .
      62. Web site: Juno gets second close look at Jupiter's volcanic moon Io . 3 February 2024 . 10 February 2024 . 6 February 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240206010628/https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/juno-gets-second-close-look-at-jupiter-s-volcanic-moon-io . live .
      63. Web site: Talbert. Tricia. 2021-01-08. NASA Extends Exploration for Two Planetary Science Missions. 2021-01-08. NASA. 16 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210116163441/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-extends-exploration-for-two-planetary-science-missions/. live.
      64. Intuitive Machines . Int_Machines . 1760323743270756500 . Odysseus completed its scheduled 408-second main engine lunar orbit insertion burn and is currently in a 92 km circular lunar orbit. Initial data indicates the 800 m/s burn was completed within 2 m/s accuracy. 1/4 (21FEB2024 0920 CST).
      65. News: Intuitive Machines: Odysseus Moon lander 'tipped over on touchdown'. February 23, 2024. www.bbc.com. February 24, 2024. February 24, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240224162423/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68388695. live.
      66. Andrew Jones . AJ_FI . 1772184355357467099 . Queqiao-2 began a 19-minute braking burn at 1646 UTC March 24 and successfully entered lunar orbit. Further manoeuvres to enter its planned 24-hour period orbit. Tiandu-1 & 2 are also in lunar orbit, completing burns at 1743 UTC. . 25 March 2024.
      67. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China's Chang'e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon . . 6 May 2024 . 6 May 2024 . 8 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240508193233/https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-is-carrying-a-surprise-rover-to-the-moon/ . live .
      68. Web site: Chang'e-6 enters lunar orbit after near-moon braking. Xinhua. 8 May 2024. 8 May 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240508054600/https://english.news.cn/20240508/4750a8d5c7bc4a66b5baa0ae08429cce/c.html. live.
      69. News: Jones . Andrew . 29 May 2024 . Chang'e-6 set for weekend landing attempt as sun rises over Apollo crater . live . https://archive.today/20240823173641/https://spacenews.com/change-6-set-for-weekend-landing-attempt-as-sun-rises-over-apollo-crater/ . 23 August 2024 . 29 May 2024 . .
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      71. Web site: Garcia . Mark . 25 April 2024 . Cosmonauts Begin Spacewalk for Hardware, Science Work . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240425153252/https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/04/25/cosmonauts-begin-spacewalk-for-hardware-science-work/ . 25 April 2024 . 25 April 2024 . .
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      75. 1834191976746352680 . planet4589 . The hatch open/close time was about 26m 40s. Isaacman was outside hatch for 7 min 56m; Gillis for about 7m15s. . Jonathan . McDowell . Jonathan McDowell . 12 September 2024 . 12 September 2024.
      76. News: SpaceX Polaris Dawn astronauts perform historic 1st private spacewalk in orbit (video). space.com. 12 September 2024. 12 September 2024.
      77. News: Jones . Andrew . 12 July 2024 . China's Long March 6A rocket appears to have an orbital debris problem . live . https://archive.today/20240823172325/https://spacenews.com/chinas-long-march-6a-rocket-appears-to-have-an-orbital-debris-problem/ . 23 August 2024 . 8 August 2024 . SpaceNews .
      78. 1821320706044653969 . S4S_SDA .
        1. S4S has confirmed the breakup of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China, on Aug. 7, 2024. Analysis ongoing. #spacedebris #SDA @SpaceTrackOrg @US_SpaceCom
        . S4S_SDA . 7 August 2024 . 7 August 2024.
      79. Press Release: Break-up of Russian-owned space object . . 27 June 2024 . 27 June 2024.
      80. 1821320706044653969 . S4S_SDA .
        1. S4S has confirmed the breakup of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China, on Aug. 7, 2024. Analysis ongoing. #spacedebris #SDA @SpaceTrackOrg @US_SpaceCom
        . S4S_SDA . 7 August 2024 . 7 August 2024.
      81. 1821320706044653969 . S4S_SDA .
        1. S4S has confirmed the breakup of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China, on Aug. 7, 2024. Analysis ongoing. #spacedebris #SDA @SpaceTrackOrg @US_SpaceCom
        . S4S_SDA . 7 August 2024 . 7 August 2024.
      82. 1832071044221600129 . sling_shot_aero .
        1. Slingshot Orbital Alert Slingshot Aerospace has detected what appears to be a breakup of the ATLAS 5 CENTAUR Rocket Body in a highly elliptical orbit (HEO). This rocket delivered GOES 17 into orbit on March 1st, 2018.
        . sling_shot_aero . 6 September 2024 . 6 September 2024.
      83. 1847843143527387628 . planet4589 . Intelsat's IS-33e communications sat has undergone a breakup event in geostationary orbit, with US Space Force reporting 20 tracked (but not yet cataloged) debris objects. The sat was launched 2016 Aug 24 and is over the Indian Ocean at 60.1E; breakup was 0430 UTC Oct 19. . Jonathan . McDowell . 20 October 2024 . 20 October 2024.
      84. Web site: Rainbow . Jason . ExoAnalytic observes 500 pieces of debris from Intelsat 33e breakup . SpaceNews . 29 October 2024.
      85. Web site: Clark . Stephen . 2024-07-12 . The unmatched streak of perfection with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is over . 2024-07-12 . Ars Technica . en-us.
      86. News: Harwood . William . 2024-08-28 . SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites, but rocket's first stage crashes on landing barge . 2024-08-28 . CBS News.
      87. Web site: ULA's Vulcan rocket launches private US moon lander, 1st since Apollo, and human remains in debut flight . 8 January 2024 . 8 January 2024 . Space . 8 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240108152550/https://www.space.com/ula-vulcan-centaur-first-launch-peregrine-celestis-moon-mission . live .
      88. Web site: China's record-breaking Gravity-1 rocket aces amazing debut launch from ship at sea (video) . 11 January 2024 . 11 January 2024 . Space . 11 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240111225217/https://www.space.com/china-orienspace-gravity-1-rocket-launch-success-video . live .
      89. Web site: First Kairos rocket explodes seconds after liftoff . 13 March 2024 . 13 March 2024 . SpaceNews . 14 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240614022343/https://spacenews.com/first-kairos-rocket-explodes-seconds-after-liftoff/ . live .
      90. Web site: China launches first Long March 6C rocket . 7 May 2024 . 7 May 2024 . SpaceNews . 14 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240614022344/https://spacenews.com/china-launches-first-long-march-6c-rocket/ . live .
      91. Web site: Russia launches new Angara A5 heavy-lift rocket on 4th orbital test mission (photos) . 18 April 2024 . 18 April 2024 . Space . 18 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240418155245/https://www.space.com/russia-1st-post-soviet-rocket-angara-a5-fourth-test-launch . live .
      92. Web site: Another Failed Satellite Launch at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station . 28 May 2024 . 28 May 2024 . BeyondParallel . 28 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240528175349/https://beyondparallel.csis.org/another-failed-satellite-launch-at-the-sohae-satellite-launching-station/ . live .
      93. Web site: Europe launches maiden flight of Ariane 6 rocket . 9 July 2024 . 23 July 2024 . CBS News.
      94. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Landspace puts 2 satellites in orbit with enhanced Zhuque-2 rocket . SpaceNews . 27 November 2024.
      95. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China launches first Long March 12 from new commercial spaceport in boost for country’s lunar plans . SpaceNews . 1 December 2024.
      96. CNSpaceflight . 1864186644867469383 . No, no, no, they call it Kuaizhou-1A Pro . 4 December 2024.
      97. blueorigin. 1832128490625180038. We're supportive of NASA's decision to target the ESCAPADE mission for no earlier than spring 2025 and look forward to the flight. We plan to move up New Glenn's second flight, originally scheduled for December, into November. New Glenn will carry Blue Ring technology and mark our first National Security Space Launch certification flight. We'll provide more details on these launch plans in the coming weeks. To learn more about Blue Ring, please visit: https://blueorigin.com/blue-ring..