2024 in spaceflight

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2024 in spaceflight
Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander (IM 00309).jpg
Starship Booster Return on Final Approach (54063904149).jpg
Europa Clipper spacecraft model.png
Chang'e-6 scooped sampling area.jpg
Orbital launches
First1 January
Last8 December
Total242
Successes236
Failures4
Partial failures2
Catalogued 237
National firsts
Satellite
Space traveller
Rockets
Maiden flights
Retirements
Crewed flights
Orbital9
Orbital travellers28
Suborbital5
Suborbital travellers30
Total travellers58
2024 in spaceflight
←  2023
2025  →

For the fourth year in a row, new world records were set for both orbital launch attempts and successful orbital launches. The year featured successful maiden launches of Vulcan Centaur, Gravity-1, Long March 12, 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.

Contents

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 was visited by Expedition 70, 71, and 72, while Shenzhou 18 and 19 visited Tiangong. The ISS also hosted the private crew of Axiom Mission 3.

Alper Gezeravcı became 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 5 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] [7]

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

In November, stacking operation begun for the Artemis 2 SLS solid rocket boosters segments. [8] On 5 December, NASA updated the mission timeline, where Artemis 2 was delayed from 2025 September to 2026 April, and Artemis 3 from 2026 September to mid-2027. The delay is mainly attributed to problems involving the heat shield of the Orion spacecraft. [9] [10] [11]

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. [12] It landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the 5th country to soft land on the Moon. [13] 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. [14] The lander operated on an internal battery power, which was fully drained that day. [15]

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. [15] 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. [16] Irrespective of wrong attitude and loss of communication with the lander, the mission was fully successful after confirmation of its primary goal landing within 100 m (330 ft) of its landing spot was already achieved. [17] [18] [16]

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. [19] 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 −120 °C (−184 °F) 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. [20] [21] [22] [23]

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. [24]

Just before landing, at approximately 30 m (98 ft) 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 10 m/s (22 mph). 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. [25] [26] [27] [28]

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. [29] [30]

China 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. [31] [32] Tracking data appears to show China attempted to salvage the spacecraft and they appear to have succeeded in reaching their desired orbit. [33] [34]

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. [35] 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). [36] [37]

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. [38] 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. [39] 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. [40] 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. [41] [42] 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. [43] 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. [44]

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. [45] After Kononenko returned on 23 September, the new records stands at 1110 days, 14 hours and 57 minutes. [46]

On 5 June, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft conducted its crewed test flight. [47] 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, [48] 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. [49]

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. [50]

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. [51]

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). [52]

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. [53] [54]

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. [55]

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. [56]

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. [57] [58] The second stage could not be deorbited and payloads studying and testing re-entry could not be deployed. [59]

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).

On 30 November, Long March 12 successfully launched on its debut flight. Importantly, the launch also marked the debut of the YF-100K engine that will power the first stage of Long March 10 which is expected to send Chinese astronauts to the Moon before 2030. [60]

The maiden flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn was planned for November. [61] Initial rollout of the vehicle and testing was completed in February [62] and in May Blue Origin planned to conduct additional testing in preparation for launch. [63] On June 12 Blue Origin received the communications license necessary for the flight. [64] The launch was rescheduled for December 2024 or early 2025.

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. [65] [66]

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

Numbers of orbital launches
MonthTotalSuccessesFailuresPartial failures
January 222200
February 191900
March 222011
April 191900
May 262510
June 171700
July 131021
August 212100
September 232300
October 191900
November 303000
December 111100
Total24223642

Launches from the Moon

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC)Outcome
Remarks
3 June
23:38:10 [67] 		Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Chang'e 6 ascent vehicleChang'e 6 descent stage, Apollo Basin Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg CNSA
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Lunar soil sample container CNSA Selenocentric orbit Sample return6 June 2024Successful
Sample return mission. Launch happened roughly 48 hours after landing, during which lunar samples were collected. [68] The ascent vehicle rendezvoused and docked with Chang'e 6 orbiter waiting in the lunar orbit and transferred the collected lunar samples to return vehicle for return to Earth.

Deep-space rendezvous

Date (UTC)SpacecraftEventRemarks
19 January SLIM Lunar landingSuccess [69]
Late January Peregrine Lunar orbit insertionPrecluded due to propellant leak developing shortly after launch. [70]
3 February Juno 58th perijoveOn the day of this perijove, Juno flew by Io at a distance of 1,500 km. Orbital period around Jupiter reduced to 33 days. [71] [72]
21 February Nova-C (IM-1 Odysseus)Lunar orbit insertionSuccess [73]
22 February Nova-C (IM-1 Odysseus)Lunar landingPartial success; lander touched down successfully, but one of the footpads came to rest on a rock, and the lander leaned over, then toppled on its side. The lander survived the fall, with instrumentation and solar panels oriented upward. [74]
24 March Queqiao-2 Lunar orbit insertionSuccess [75]
24 March Tiandu 1 and 2 Lunar orbit insertionSuccess [75]
8 May [76] Chang'e 6 Lunar orbit insertionSuccess [77]
1 June [41] Chang'e 6 lander and ascent vehicleLunar landingSuccess [41]
Landing site is in the southern portion of Apollo crater within South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side of the moon. [68] coordinates 41°38′S153°59′W / 41.64°S 153.99°W / -41.64; -153.99
6 June [68] Chang'e 6 ascent vehicle and orbiter Lunar orbit rendezvous Docking of ascent vehicle with orbiter; transfer of sample container from ascent vehicle to orbiter/return module. [68]
25 JuneChang'e 6 orbiter and re-entry capsule Trans-Earth injection Orbiter and re-entry capsule separated after Earth orbit injection
25 June [68] Chang'e 6 re-entry capsuleLunar sample returnRe-entry capsule bounced off the atmosphere once and landed in Inner Mongolia [41]
19–20 August JUICE Gravity assist at Earth and MoonSuccess
5 September BepiColombo Fourth gravity assist at MercurySuccess
6 November Parker Solar Probe Seventh gravity assist at VenusSuccess
2 December BepiColombo Fifth gravity assist at MercurySuccess
13 December Lucy Second gravity assist at EarthTarget altitude 350 km
24 December Parker Solar Probe 22nd perihelion, closest approach to the Sun

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

Start Date/TimeDurationEnd TimeSpacecraftCrewRemarks
1 March 2024
21:40		7 hours 52 minutes05:32 (next day) Shenzhou 17
TSS Wentian airlock 		Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Tang Hongbo
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Jiang Xinlin 		Fourteenth EVA from the Tiangong space station. Tasks included maintenance of the solar panels of the Tianhe core module, which have sustained minor damage caused by impacts of space debris and micrometeoroids; evaluation and analysis of the performance status of the solar panel power generation and also inspection of the status of the space station modules. [78]
25 April 2024
14:57		4 Hours, 36 Minutes19:33 Expedition 71

ISS Poisk

Flag of Russia.svg Oleg Kononenko
Flag of Russia.svg Nikolai Chub 		The cosmonauts ventured out and released launch locks on the Mini Radar Unit to get it deployed and installed a series of experiments TKK and Kvartz onto Poisk including a monoblock payload adapter and boom and photograph the Russian Segment.The Cosmonauts also repositioned the Plume Measurement Unit, removed an ion radiation probe and jettisoned it, and retrieved the Biorisk canisters for return to earth. The cosmonauts also wiped down the handrails on Nauka and Poisk to check for microbial growth and contamination from the radiator leak and from visiting vehicles and hydrazine from Nauka's arrival. [79] [80]
28 May 2024
02:35		8 hours 23 minutes10:58 Shenzhou 18
TSS Wentian airlock 		Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ye Guangfu
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Guangsu 		Longest Chinese spacewalk to date. Tasks included installing space debris protection devices and conducting inspections of extravehicular equipment and facilities. [81]
24 June 2024
12:46		31 minutes13:17 Expedition 71
ISS Quest
Flag of the United States.svg Tracy Caldwell Dyson
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Barratt 		Dyson and Barratt were intended to venture out and retrieve the SASA Antenna and bring it inside, collect samples from the station's hull to look for signs of microbial growth that could be present on the modules either after launch or exposed to space, and prep the LEE A Wrist Joint Replacement Module for installation on an upcoming spacewalk. However, the spacewalk was terminated shortly after depress due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on Dyson’s spacesuit. [82]
3 July 2024
08:19		6 hours 32 minutes14:51 Shenzhou 18
TSS Wentian airlock 		Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ye Guangfu
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Cong 		Tasks included installing space debris protection devices and conducting inspections of extravehicular equipment and facilities.
12 September 2024
10:12		26 minutes [a] [83] 11:58 Crew Dragon Resilience Flag of the United States.svg Jared Isaacman
Flag of the United States.svg Sarah Gillis
Flag of the United States.svg Scott Poteet
Flag of the United States.svg Anna Menon 		Testing EVA capability of Dragon and a new suit designed by SpaceX. Isaacman left the capsule for 7 minutes and 56 seconds followed by Gillis, who left the capsule for 7 minutes and 15 seconds. The other two crew members were exposed to the vacuum of space in the capsule, but did not leave it. First all-private crew spacewalk with commercially developed hardware, procedures, and the EVA suit. New record for most people exposed to the vacuum of space at a time. [84]

Space debris events

Date/Time (UTC)Source objectEvent typePieces trackedRemarks
26 March Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Long March 6A upper stageBreakup~60Energetic fragmentation event; Cause Unknown; but may be related to upper stage passivization or insulation. [85] [86]
26 June Flag of Russia.svg Resurs-P No.1 Breakup100+Unknown [87]
4 July Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Long March 6A upper stageBreakup ?Energetic fragmentation event; Cause Unknown; but may be related to upper stage passivization or insulation. [85] [88]
6 August Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Long March 6A upper stageBreakup700-900+Energetic fragmentation event; Cause Unknown; but may be related to upper stage passivization or insulation. [85] [89]
6 September Flag of the United States.svg Atlas V Centaur Breakup40+Unknown [90]
19 October Flag of Luxembourg.svg / Flag of the United States.svg Intelsat 33e Breakup~500Unknown; potential threat to all spacecraft in geostationary orbit, including the Russian satellites, Ekspress-AT1, Yamal-402, Ekspress-AM6 and Elektro-L. [91] [92]

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.

Circle frame.svgChina: 62Europe: 3India: 4Iran: 5Israel: 0Japan: 6North Korea: 1Russia: 16USA: 146
CountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial
failures		Remarks
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 626011
Flag of Europe.svg  Europe 3201
Flag of India.svg  India 4400
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 4400
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 6510
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 1010
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 161600
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 14614510Includes Electron launches from Māhia
World24223642

By rocket

25
50
75
100
125
150
ILV

By family

By type

By configuration

By spaceport

25
50
75
100
125
150
China
France
India
Iran
Japan
Kazakhstan
New Zealand
North Korea
SiteCountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial failuresRemarks
Baikonur Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 7700
Cape Canaveral Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 656500
Jiuquan Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 191810
Kennedy Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 232300
Kii Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1010First launch
Kourou Flag of France.svg  France 3201
Māhia Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 121200
MARS Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 1100
Plesetsk Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 5500
Satish Dhawan Flag of India.svg  India 4400
Semnan Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 2200
Shahroud Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 2200
Sohae Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 1010
South China Sea Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 2200
Starbase Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 2200
Taiyuan Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 121200
Tanegashima Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 5500
Vandenberg Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 434210
Vostochny Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 4400
Wenchang Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 8800
Xichang Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 181701
Yellow Sea Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 3300
Total24223642

By orbit

50
100
150
200
250
300
  •   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 regimeLaunchesAchievedNot achievedAccidentally
achieved		Remarks
Transatmospheric 2110
Low Earth / Sun-synchronous 20320031Including flights to ISS and Tiangong (CSS)
Geosynchronous / Tundra / GTO 232300
Medium Earth / Molniya 5500
High Earth / Lunar transfer 6510
Heliocentric orbit / Planetary transfer 3300
Total24223751

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.

Circle frame.svgSpain: 0Brazil: 2Canada: 11China: 1France: 0Germany: 1India: 3Iran: 301Israel: 0Japan: 1The Netherlands: 1North Korea: 5Pakistan: 0Poland: 1Russia: 3Slovenia: 0South Korea: 0Taiwan: 0Turkey: 0United Kingdom: 0USA: 33Ukraine: 0Yemen: 3
CountryLaunchesSuccessesFailuresPartial
failures		Remarks
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 2200
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 111100
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 1100
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 2200
Flag of India.svg  India 3300
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 30130100From the 2024 Iranian strikes in Israel
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1100
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1001
Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 5500
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 1100
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 3210
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 333210
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 3300
World36736421

Maiden orbital flights

RocketOriginOrganizationLaunchOutcomeRef.
Vulcan Centaur VC2S Flag of the United States.svg  United States ULA 8 JanuarySuccess [95]
Gravity-1 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Orienspace 11 JanuarySuccess [96]
KAIROS Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Space One 13 MarchFailure [97]
Long March 6C Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China CASC 7 MaySuccess [98]
Angara A5 / Orion Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Roscosmos 11 AprilSuccess [99]
New-type satellite carrier rocketFlag of North Korea.svg  North Korea NATA/Khrunichev 27 MayFailure [100]
Ariane 62 Flag of Europe.svg  Europe Arianespace 9 JulyPartial failure [101]
Zhuque-2E Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China LandSpace 27 NovemberSuccess [102]
Long March 12 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China CASC 30 NovemberSuccess [103]
Kuaizhou 1A Pro Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China CASIC 4 DecemberSuccess [104]
New Glenn Flag of the United States.svg  United States Blue Origin DecemberPlanned [105]

Notes

  1. ↑ hatch open to hatch close

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacecraft</span> Vehicle or machine designed to fly in space

A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lander (spacecraft)</span> Type of spacecraft

A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese space program</span> Space program of the Peoples Republic of China

The space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the People's Republic of China. The roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help of the newly allied Soviet Union, China began development of its first ballistic missile and rocket programs in response to the perceived American threats. Driven by the successes of Soviet Sputnik 1 and American Explorer 1 satellite launches in 1957 and 1958 respectively, China would launch its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1 in April 1970 aboard a Long March 1 rocket, making it the fifth nation to place a satellite in orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far side of the Moon</span> Hemisphere of the Moon that always faces away from Earth

The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is rugged, with a multitude of impact craters and relatively few flat and dark lunar maria ("seas"), giving it an appearance closer to other barren places in the Solar System such as Mercury and Callisto. It has one of the largest craters in the Solar System, the South Pole–Aitken basin. The hemisphere has sometimes been called the "Dark side of the Moon", where "dark" means "unknown" instead of "lacking sunlight" – each location on the Moon experiences two weeks of sunlight while the opposite location experiences night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon landing</span> Arrival of a spacecraft on the Moons surface

A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar lander</span> Spacecraft intended to land on the surface of the Moon

A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 1972 during the United States' Apollo Program. Several robotic landers have reached the surface, and some have returned samples to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploration of the Moon</span> Missions to the Moon

The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made a deliberate impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of lunar exploration had been observations from Earth. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the first leap in the quality of lunar observations. Galileo Galilei is generally credited as the first person to use a telescope for astronomical purposes, having made his own telescope in 1609, the mountains and craters on the lunar surface were among his first observations using it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Lunar Exploration Program</span> Lunar research program (2004 – present)

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, also known as the Chang'e Project after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of spaceflight</span>

Spaceflight began in the 20th century following theoretical and practical breakthroughs by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert H. Goddard, and Hermann Oberth, each of whom published works proposing rockets as the means for spaceflight. The first successful large-scale rocket programs were initiated in Nazi Germany by Wernher von Braun. The Soviet Union took the lead in the post-war Space Race, launching the first satellite, the first animal, the first human and the first woman into orbit. The United States landed the first men on the Moon in 1969. Through the late 20th century, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China were also working on projects to reach space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of space exploration</span> Overview of and topical guide to space exploration

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 2</span> Chinese Moon orbiter

Chang'e 2 is a Chinese uncrewed lunar probe that was launched on 1 October 2010. It was a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 lunar probe, which was launched in 2007. Chang'e 2 was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and conducted research from a 100-km-high lunar orbit in preparation for the December 2013 soft landing by the Chang'e 3 lander and rover. Chang'e 2 was similar in design to Chang'e 1, although it featured some technical improvements, including a more advanced onboard camera. Like its predecessor, the probe was named after Chang'e, an ancient Chinese moon goddess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 in spaceflight</span>

This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2018. For the first time since 1990, more than 100 orbital launches were performed globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 4</span> Chinese lunar lander & rover

Chang'e 4 is a robotic spacecraft mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of the CNSA. It made a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, the first spacecraft to do so, on 3 January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 5</span> Chinese lunar exploration mission

Chang'e 5 was the fifth lunar exploration mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of CNSA, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e. It launched at 20:30 UTC on 23 November 2020, from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, landed on the Moon on 1 December 2020, collected ~1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples, and returned to the Earth at 17:59 UTC on 16 December 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 5-T1</span> Chinese lunar probe launched in 2014

Chang'e 5-T1 was an experimental robotic spacecraft that was launched to the Moon on 23 October 2014, by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to conduct atmospheric re-entry tests on the capsule design planned to be used in the Chang'e 5 mission. As part of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, Chang'e 5, launched in 2020, was a Moon sample return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e. The craft consisted of a return vehicle capsule and a service module orbiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 6</span> Chinese lunar sample-return mission

Chang'e 6 was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It was the first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon; all previous samples were collected from the near side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 in spaceflight</span>

The year 2022 witnessed the number of launches of SpaceX's Falcon rocket family surpassing the CNSA's Long March rocket family, making the United States the country with the highest number of launches in 2022 instead of China. This year also featured the first successful launch of Long March 6A, Nuri, Angara 1.2, Vega C, Kinetica-1, and Jielong-3. National space agencies' activities in this year is also marred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to tension between Roscosmos and Western space agencies, threats of ending collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS), and delays on space missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queqiao-1</span> Chinese lunar communications satellite

Queqiao relay satellite (Chinese: 鹊桥号中继卫星; pinyin: Quèqiáo hào zhōngjì wèixīng; lit. 'Magpie Bridge relay satellite'), is the first of the pair of communications relay and radio astronomy satellites for the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched the Queqiao relay satellite on 20 May 2018 to a halo orbit around the Earth–Moon L2 Lagrangian point Queqiao is the first communication relay and radio astronomy satellite at this location.

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