A gravity assist, gravity assist maneuver, swing-by, or generally a gravitational slingshot in orbital mechanics, is a type of spaceflight flyby which makes use of the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other astronomical object to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically to save propellant and reduce expense.
The Guiana Space Centre, also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately 500 kilometres north of the equator at a latitude of 5°. In operation since 1968, it is a suitable location for a spaceport because of its near equatorial location and open sea to the east and north.
Long March 5 or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), also known by its nickname "Pang-Wu", is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). It is the first Chinese launch vehicle designed to use exclusively non-hypergolic liquid propellants. It is the fifth iteration of the Long March rocket family.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.
Several new rockets and spaceports began operations in 2016.
The year 2021 broke the record for the most orbital launch attempts till then (146) and most humans in space concurrently (19) despite the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s.
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 was also affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to tensions between Roscosmos and Western space agencies, leading to threats of ending collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS), and resulting in several delays on various space missions.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2026.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2027.
Tianwen-4, formerly known as Gan De, is a planned Chinese interplanetary mission to study the Jovian system, possibly sharing a launch with a spacecraft which will make a flyby of Uranus.
The Planetary Exploration of China, also known as Tianwen, is the robotic interplanetary spaceflight program conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program aims to explore planets of the Solar System, starting from Mars, and will be expanded to Jupiter and more in the future.
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2028.
