2024 in spaceflight

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2024 in spaceflight
Highlights from spaceflight in 2024[a]
Orbital launches
First1 January
Last10 February
Total27
Successes27
Failures0
Catalogued21
National firsts
Space traveller Turkey
Rockets
Maiden flights
Crewed flights
Orbital1
Orbital travellers4
Suborbital1
Suborbital travellers6
Total travellers10

This article documents notable spaceflight events that have happened or are going to happen during the year 2024. Upcoming astronomical and space events for 2024 have been presented in The New York Times.[1]

Overview

Astronomy and Astrophysics

On New Year's Day at 3:40 UTC, ISRO launched their XPoSat for studying X-ray polarization.[2][3] [4]

Aditya-L1 spacecraft launched by ISRO got inserted into a Halo orbit around L1 point on January 6. It will study the solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on the environment around the 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.[5]

European Space Agency will launch their PROBA-3 dual satellites for solar coronagraphy.

Exploration of the Solar System

Mars helicopter Ingenuity flew its 72nd and last flight, when all four of its rotor blades were damaged, causing NASA to retire the craft.[6][7]

NASA plans to launch the Europa Clipper in October, which will study the Jovian moon Europa while in orbit around Jupiter.

Hera will launch to Didymos asteroid to study the after effects of Double Asteroid Redirection Test.

NASA's EscaPADE mission to Mars is also planned to launch this year.

Lunar exploration

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 achieved the first-ever lunar soft landing for a Japanese spacecraft.[8] It landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the 5th country to soft land on the Moon.[9] Although it landed successfully, its in wrong attitude, because the solar panels are oriented westwards facing opposite the Sun at the start of lunar day, thereby failing to generate enough power.[10] The lander operated on internal battery power, which was fully drained that day. The mission's operators hope that the lander will wake up after a few days when sunlight should hit the solar panels.[11]

Irrespective of this solar array issue on lander, the two LEV 1 and 2 rovers, deployed during hovering just before final landing are working as expected and LEV-1 communicating independently to the ground stations.[11] LEV-1 conducted six hops 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.[12] Irrespective of wrong attitude and loss of communication with the lander, the mission is already fully successful after confirmation of its primary goal landing within 100 m (330 ft) of its landing spot was already achieved.[13][14][15]

China plans to send Chang'e 6 in May, which will conduct the first lunar sample return from the far side of the Moon.[16] This will be China's second lunar sample return mission, the first was achieved by Chang'e 5 from the lunar near side 4 years ago. Pakistan will send a lunar orbiter called ICECUBE-Q along with Chang'e 6.

Nova-C, VIPER and Blue Ghost are all planned to launch to the Moon this year.

Human spaceflight

ISRO will launch their Gaganyaan uncrewed missions and SPADEX docking experiment this year.

Private human spaceflight and space tourism

Polaris Dawn, featuring the first commercial spacewalk, is also on track to launch in first half of this year.

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.

SpaceX also plans to launch Axiom Mission 4 to the ISS later in the year 2024.

On 26 January[17] Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity was successfully launched from Spaceport America on Galactic 06 suborbital space tourism mission.

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.[18]

China's Orienspace's Gravity-1 rocket completed its successful maiden flight on January 11, 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 2024).

Space Pioneer (aka Tianbing) of China plans to launch its Falcon 9 class kerolox rocket Tianlong-3 in June.

The maiden flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn is planned for August 2024.[19]

Satellite technology

NISAR, the most expensive and largest radar imaging satellite will be launched from India onboard GSLV Mk-II by late February 2024.[20]

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem or PACE, a NASA Earth observing satellite in design phase, has a launch scheduled for 2024.

NASA's Dream Chaser spaceplane, developed by Sierra Space, is scheduled to have its first flight in April. It will visit the International Space Station.[21]

Orbital launches

Main articles: List of spaceflight launches in January–June 2024 and List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2024
List of orbital launches
Month Num. of successes Num. of failures Num. of partial failures
January 22 0 0
February 5 0 0
March TBD TBD TBD
April TBD TBD TBD
May TBD TBD TBD
June TBD TBD TBD
July TBD TBD TBD
August TBD TBD TBD
September TBD TBD TBD
October TBD TBD TBD
November TBD TBD TBD
December TBD TBD TBD
Total 27 0 0

Deep-space rendezvous

Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
19 January SLIM Lunar landing Success[22]
Late January Peregrine Lunar orbit insertion Precluded due to propellant leak developing shortly after launch.[23]
3 February Juno 58th perijove On the day of this perijove, Juno flew by Io at a distance of 1,500 km. Orbital period around Jupiter reduced to 33 days.[24][25]
23 August JUICE Gravity assist at Earth and Moon
5 September BepiColombo Fourth gravity assist at Mercury
6 November Parker Solar Probe Seventh gravity assist at Venus
2 December BepiColombo Fifth gravity assist at Mercury
13 December Lucy Second gravity assist at Earth Target altitude 350 km
24 December Parker Solar Probe 22nd perihelion, closest approach to the Sun

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks

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 Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand are counted under the United States because Electron is an American rocket.

China: 8Europe: 0Germany: 0India: 1Iran: 2Israel: 0Japan: 1North Korea: 0Russia: 1South Korea: 0USA: 14
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures 		Remarks
 China 8 8 0 0
 India 1 1 0 0
 Iran 2 2 0 0
 Japan 1 1 0 0
 Russia 1 1 0 0
 United States 14 14 0 0 Includes Electron launches from Mahia
World 27 27 0 0

By rocket

By family

By type

By configuration

By spaceport

5
10
15
20
China
France
India
Iran
Japan
Kazakhstan
New Zealand
Russia
South Korea
United Kingdom
United States
Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Cape Canaveral  United States 6 6 0 0
Jiuquan  China 3 3 0 0
Kennedy  United States 2 2 0 0
Mahia  New Zealand 1 1 0 0
Plesetsk  Russia 1 1 0 0
Satish Dhawan  India 1 1 0 0
Semnan  Iran 1 1 0 0
Shahroud  Iran 1 1 0 0
South China Sea  China 1 1 0 0
Tanegashima  Japan 1 1 0 0
Vandenberg  United States 5 5 0 0
Wenchang  China 1 1 0 0
Xichang  China 2 2 0 0
Yellow Sea  China 1 1 0 0
Total 27 27 0 0

By orbit

  •   Transatmospheric
  •   Low Earth
  •   Low Earth (ISS)
  •   Low Earth (CSS)
  •   Low Earth (SSO)
  •   Low Earth (polar)
  •   Low Earth (retrograde)
  •   Medium Earth
  •   Molniya
  •   Geosynchronous
  •   Tundra
  •   High Earth
  •   Lunar transfer
  •   Heliocentric
Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not achieved Accidentally
achieved 		Remarks
Transatmospheric 0 0 0 0
Low Earth / Sun-synchronous 25 25 0 0 Including flights to ISS and Tiangong (CSS)
Geosynchronous / Tundra / GTO 1 1 0 0
Medium Earth / Molniya 0 0 0 0
High Earth / Lunar transfer 1 1 0 0
Heliocentric orbit / Planetary transfer 0 0 0 0
Total 27 27 0 0

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 80 km (50 mi) are omitted.

Spain: 0Brazil: 0Canada: 0China: 0France: 0Germany: 0India: 0Iran: 0Israel: 0Japan: 0The Netherlands: 0North Korea: 0Pakistan: 0Russia: 0Slovenia: 0South Korea: 0Taiwan: 0Turkey: 0United Kingdom: 0USA: 1Ukraine: 0Yemen: 0
Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures 		Remarks
 United States 1 1 0 0
World 1 1 0 0

Planned maiden flights

Notes

  1. ^ Clockwise from top left:
    • NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft will be launched on a mission to study the Jovian moon Europa in 2024.
    • Maiden flight of Gravity-1, the world's largest solid-fuel powered carrier rocket as of 2024.

References

  1. ^ Staff (1 January 2024). "Sync Your Calendar With the Solar System - Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other astronomical and space event that's out of this world". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  2. ^ Majkowska, Iwona (26 September 2023). "ISRO Plans Mars Lander Mission After Successful Lunar Mission". Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  3. ^ "ISRO set to launch Shukrayaan and XPoSat missions to exploring the universe's mysteries". Hindustan Times. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Halo-Orbit Insertion of Aditya-L1 Successfully Accomplished". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Einstein Probe lifts off on a mission to monitor the X-ray sky". www.esa.int.
  6. ^ "After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends". Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  7. ^ NASA Science Live: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Tribute & Legacy, retrieved 1 February 2024
  8. ^ "Japan makes contact with 'Moon Sniper' on lunar surface". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  9. ^ Chang, Kenneth (19 January 2024). "Japan Becomes Fifth Country to Land on the Moon". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "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).
  11. ^ a b Sample, Ian (19 January 2024). "Japan's Slim spacecraft lands on moon but struggles to generate power". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  12. ^ 小型月着陸実証機（SLIM）および小型プローブ（LEV）の月面着陸の結果・成果等 の記者会見, retrieved 25 January 2024
  13. ^ Jones, Andrew (22 January 2024). "Japan's moon lander forced to power down but may yet be revived". SpaceNews. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  14. ^ "SLIM Project Press Kit" (PDF). JAXA.
  15. ^ 小型月着陸実証機（SLIM）および小型プローブ（LEV）の月面着陸の結果・成果等 の記者会見, retrieved 25 January 2024
  16. ^ Andrew Jones [@AJ_FI] (25 April 2023). "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)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ Jonathan McDowell [@planet4589] (26 January 2024). "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)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Belam, Martin (8 January 2024). "Nasa Peregrine 1 launch: Vulcan Centaur rocket carrying Nasa moon lander lifts off in Florida – live updates". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  19. ^ a b Foust, Jeff (21 November 2023). "NASA Mars smallsat mission to be on first New Glenn launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  20. ^ Pillai, Soumya (22 December 2023). "Three launches in Q1: ISRO's upcoming missions in 2024". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  21. ^ Klotz, Irene; Reim, Garrett (25 October 2023). "ULA Sets Dec. 24 As Target Date For Vulcan's Debut". Aviation Week. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  22. ^ Jones, Andrew (19 January 2024). "Japan makes history with tense, successful moon landing". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  23. ^ Fisher, Jackie Wattles, Kristin (8 January 2024). "Peregrine mission abandons Moon landing attempt after suffering 'critical' fuel loss". CNN. Retrieved 9 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "Juno gets second close look at Jupiter's volcanic moon Io". 3 February 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  25. ^ Talbert, Tricia (8 January 2021). "NASA Extends Exploration for Two Planetary Science Missions". NASA. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Ariane 6 joint update report, 30 November 2023". ESA. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  27. ^ @Reactiondyn (12 January 2024). "We're gearing up for qualification testing and preparing for our inaugural flight in the last quarter of 2024 as part of the Aurora test program" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ "An Australian-made rocket will be launched in Queensland in a historic first". ABC News. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  29. ^ Hyeong-woo, Kan (20 March 2023). "Innospace launches world's 1st hybrid rocket with electric pump". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Announcement of the KAIROS Rocket's First Launch Schedule" (PDF). Space One Co., Ltd. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  31. ^ China N' Asia Spaceflight [@CNSpaceflight] (3 January 2023). "CASC had a planning meeting today of 2023 missions, affirming Long March 6C to debut in 2023, and 50+ launches are planned in the year" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ @CNSpaceflight (19 April 2022). "Deepblue Aerospace, the Chinese company completed 2 hop tests in 2021, closed a series A+ round funding led by MINYIN International, after a series A in January. The company also mentioned in the press release the 1st orbital launch of reusable Nebula-1 is targeted by end of 2024" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ "Neutron". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  34. ^ @CNSpaceflight (25 January 2024). "GALACTIC-ENERGY's CEO says Pallas-1 will be ready to launch this November" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 January 2024 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ Jones, Andrew (15 November 2023). "Rocket Factory Augsburg perceives historic moment for European launch industry". SpaceNews. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  36. ^ Pooran, Neil; Picksley, Dominic (24 June 2023). "Shetland's SaxaVord spaceport will soon be launching satellites into orbit". Express. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  37. ^ "Quarter 4, 2022 in review". Skyrora (Press release). 12 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  38. ^ @CNSpaceflight (30 November 2023). "A leaked photo shows SPACE-PIONEER is targeting next June for the maiden launch of Tianlong-3, 14t to 500km SSO, from Wenchang commercial launch pad#2, which is still under construction. 2 more launches are planned for September & November from Wenchang & Jiuquan, 11t to 800km" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 January 2024 – via Twitter.
  39. ^ "Skyroot gears up for Vikram-1 launch in Q1 2024, opens India's 1st integrated private sector rocket facility in Hyderabad". The Times of India. 25 October 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

External links

Generic references:

 Spaceflight portal
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