2020s in spaceflight

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2020s in spaceflight
Orion visiting Deep Space Gateway.jpg
NASA plans to assemble a Lunar Gateway as a permanent base in lunar orbit during the 2020s.
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This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s.

Overview[]

The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue. In 2022, SpaceX plans to launch its new fully reusable Starship to orbit[1] and Vulcan is planned to replace its more expensive predecessors. Ariane 6 is expected to replace the more expensive Ariane 5 in late 2022, and Blue Origin plans the maiden flight of New Glenn with a reusable first stage in late 2022.

Mars stays a focus for missions to other planets, with three missions launched in 2020 (by China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) and at least two missions planned for 2022 (ESA and Japan) and 2024 (India and Japan), respectively.

NASA plans a return of humans to the Moon by 2025. A first uncrewed launch of the Space Launch System is planned for 2022, followed by a first crewed launch in 2024. In addition NASA plans to assemble the Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit. A crewed exploration of Mars could follow in the mid 2030s. An uncrewed and then a crewed trip to Jupiter and Europa have been commonly contemplated, but no space agencies or companies have yet announced definite plans to launch a crewed mission further than Mars. SpaceX, a private company, has also announced plans to land humans on Mars in the mid-2020s, with the long-term goal of enabling the colonization of Mars.

India plans its first crewed flight with a spacecraft called Gaganyaan on a home-grown GSLV Mark III rocket in 2023. The mission would make India the fourth nation to launch a crewed spaceflight after Russia, US and China. India also plans to launch its second Mars probe, Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2), in 2024.

The James Webb Space Telescope launched in 2021. In 2027, NASA plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will have a field of view 100 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.[2][3]

The number of small satellites launched annually was expected to grow to around one thousand (2018 estimate),[4] although SpaceX alone plans to launch more than that for its Starlink constellation (12,000 satellites from 2019 to 2027).[5] The majority of the satellites are expected to be communication satellites in large constellations. In 2020, over 800 Starlink satellites were launched to orbit.

Orbital launches by year[]

2020–26[]

Main article: 2020 in spaceflight
Main articles: 2021 in spaceflight, List of spaceflight launches in January–June 2021, and List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2021
Main articles: 2022 in spaceflight, List of spaceflight launches in January–June 2022, and List of spaceflight launches in July–December 2022
Main article: 2023 in spaceflight
Main article: 2024 in spaceflight
Main article: 2025 in spaceflight
Main article: 2026 in spaceflight

2027[]

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
NLT May (TBD)[2][6] United States Commercial launch vehicle United States Cape Canaveral United States TBA
United States Roman Space Telescope NASA Sun–Earth L2 Infrared astronomy  
Formerly known as WFIRST.[3]
June (TBD)[8][9] United States Commercial launch vehicle United States TBA United States TBA
United States Dragonfly NASA Heliocentric (to Saturn) Exploration of Titan  
Rotorcraft probe to fly in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan.[7]
2027 (TBD)[10][11] Russia Angara A5 / DM-03 Russia Vostochny Site 1A Russia Roscosmos
Russia Luna 28 Roscosmos Selenocentric Lunar lander
Lunar sample return		  
2027 (TBD)[12] Russia Angara A5P Russia Vostochny Site 1A Russia Roscosmos
Russia Orel Roscosmos Low Earth Crewed flight test  
2027 (TBD)[13] Russia Angara A5V Russia Vostochny Site 1A Russia Roscosmos
Russia Dummy payload Roscosmos Low Earth Flight test  
First flight of the Angara-A5V variant.
2027 (TBD)[14][15] Europe Ariane 64 France Kourou ELA-4 France Arianespace
Europe Heracles EL3 ESA Selenocentric Lunar lander  
First flight of the HERACLES lunar transport system.
2027 (TBD)[16][17] Europe Ariane 62 or Vega-C[18] France Kourou ELA-4 or ELV France Arianespace
Europe (Sentinel-12) ESA Low Earth (Polar) Earth observation  
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme.
2027 (TBD)[19] China Long March 5 China Wenchang LC-1 China CASC
China CNSA Selenocentric Lunar lander  
2027 (TBD)[20] South Korea Nuri (KSLV-II) South Korea Naro LC-2 South Korea KARI
South Korea TBA TBA Low Earth (SSO) TBA  
Sixth planned launch of Nuri, and the final launch in the extended testing and verification phase for the launch vehicle.
2027 (TBD)[21] United States SLS Block 1B United States Kennedy LC-39B United States NASA
United States Artemis 5 NASA Selenocentric (NRHO) Crewed lunar landing  
Europe ESPRIT Refueling Module (ERM)[22] ESA Selenocentric (NRHO) Lunar Gateway component  
2027 (TBD)[23] Russia Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Kazakhstan Baikonur Russia Roscosmos
Russia №5[24] Roscosmos Molniya Meteorology  
2027 (TBD)[25] Russia Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT or Europe Vega France Kourou ELS or ELV France Arianespace
France Germany CNES / DLR Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation of atmospheric methane  
2027 (TBD)[26] Europe Vega-C France Kourou ELV France Arianespace
Europe (Sentinel-9) ESA Low Earth (Polar) Earth observation  
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme.
2027 (TBD)[27] United States TBA United States TBA United States TBA
United States Axiom Power Tower (AxPT) Axiom Space Low Earth (ISS) ISS assembly / Commercial habitat  
Fourth Axiom module. The addition of this module will enable the Axiom Orbital Segment to separate from the ISS and operate as an independent space station.
2027 (TBD)[28] United States TBA United States TBA United States TBA
United States × 3 NASA Low Earth (SSO) Meteorology  
NASA Earth Venture Mission-3 (EVM-3).
2027 (TBD)[29] United States TBA United States TBA United States TBA
United States JPSS-3 NOAA Low Earth (SSO) Meteorology  
2027 (TBD)[30][31] Russia TBA Kazakhstan Baikonur or Russia Vostochny Russia Roscosmos
Russia Ekspress-AT3 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications  
Russia Ekspress-AT4 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications  

2028[]

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
Q1 (TBD)[32] TBA TBA TBA
United Arab Emirates Emirates Asteroid Mission UAESA Heliocentric Asteroid flyby and landing  
November (TBD)[33][34] China Long March 3B China TBA China CASC
China Tianwen-2 lander CNSA TMI to Martian surface Mars sample-return    
China Tianwen-2 ascent vehicle CNSA TMI to Martian surface Mars sample-return    
Chinese Mars sample-return mission.
November (TBD)[33][34] China Long March 5 China Wenchang LC-1 China CASC
China Tianwen-2 orbiter CNSA Areocentric Mars sample-return    
China Tianwen-2 reentry capsule CNSA Areocentric Mars sample-return    
Chinese Mars sample-return mission.
2028 (TBD)[35] Russia Angara A5 / KVTK[36] Russia Vostochny Site 1A Russia Roscosmos
Russia Roscosmos TLI to lunar surface Lunar rover
Lunar sample-return		  
2028 (TBD)[37][38] Japan Epsilon Japan Uchinoura Japan JAXA
Japan JASMINE JAXA / NAOJ Low Earth (SSO) Astrometric observatory  
2028 (TBD)[39] Japan H3 Japan Tanegashima LA-Y2 Japan MHI
Japan LiteBIRD[40] JAXA Sun–Earth L2 Space observatory  
2028 (TBD)[41] China Long March 9 China Wenchang China CASC
China TBA CNSA Low Earth Flight test    
First flight of the Long March 9 super heavy-lift launch vehicle.
2028 (TBD)[42] Europe Vega-C France Kourou ELV France Arianespace
Europe (Sentinel-11) ESA Low Earth (SSO) Oceanography  
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme.
2028 (TBD)[43][44] Russia Yenisei Russia Vostochny PU3 Russia Roscosmos
Russia Orel Roscosmos Low Earth Flight test  
First flight of the Yenisei super heavy-lift launch vehicle.
2028 (TBD)[30][31] Russia TBA Kazakhstan Baikonur or Russia Vostochny Russia Roscosmos
Russia Ekspress-40 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications  
Replacement for Ekspress-AM7 at 40° East.
2028 (TBD)[46] United States TBA United States TBA United States TBA
United States VERITAS NASA Cytherocentric Venus orbiter  
NASA Discovery Program mission to Venus.[45]

2029[]

Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat) 		Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
Q4 (TBD)[46][47] United States TBA United States TBA United States TBA
United States DAVINCI+ NASA Cytherocentric Venus atmospheric probe  
NASA Discovery Program mission to Venus.[45]
2029 (TBD)[48][49] Europe Ariane 62 France Kourou ELA-4 France Arianespace
Europe ARIEL ESA Sun–Earth L2 Exoplanetary science  
Europe Japan Comet Interceptor ESA / JAXA Sun–Earth L2 Comet flyby  
2029 (TBD)[42] Europe Vega-C France Kourou ELV France Arianespace
Europe (Sentinel-10) ESA Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation  
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme.
2029 (TBD)[42] Europe Vega-C France Kourou ELV France Arianespace
Europe (Sentinel-8) ESA Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation  
Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme.
2029 (TBD)[12] Russia Yenisei Russia Vostochny PU3 Russia Roscosmos
Russia Orel Roscosmos Lunar free-return Crewed lunar flyby  
Crewed lunar flyby in preparation for a Russian crewed mission to the lunar surface in 2030.
2029 (TBD)[30][31] Russia TBA Kazakhstan Baikonur or Russia Vostochny Russia Roscosmos
Russia Ekspress-36 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications  
Replacement for Ekspress-AMU1 at 36° East.


Deep-space rendezvous after 2026[]

Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
12 August 2027 Lucy Flyby of asteroid 3548 Eurybates Target altitude 1000 km
15 September 2027 Lucy Flyby of asteroid 15094 Polymele Target altitude 415 km
December 2027 Hayabusa2 Flyby of Earth[50] Gravity assist
18 April 2028 Lucy Flyby of asteroid 11351 Leucus Target altitude 1000 km
June 2028 Hayabusa2 Flyby of Earth[50] Gravity assist
11 November 2028 Lucy Flyby of asteroid 21900 Orus Target altitude 1000 km


References[]

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