As we near the conclusion of 2024, excitement in the space sector is palpable. Recent highlights include Blue Origin’s impressive 28th mission, during which the New Shepard spacecraft successfully transported six civilians on a thrilling ten-minute flight into orbit. Notably, aerospace engineer Emily Calandrelli made history by becoming the 100th woman to journey into space. Blue Origin is not resting on its laurels, with the inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket scheduled for December.
In addition to Blue Origin’s milestones, Rocket Lab has successfully completed missions from both New Zealand and Virginia. SpaceX also marked another milestone with its sixth Starship test. On the governmental side, JAXA successfully launched a defense satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center, while Roscosmos deployed satellites aimed at monitoring the Earth’s ionosphere.
Looking ahead, here are five thrilling space missions to keep an eye on this December 2024:
Five Space Missions to Watch in December 2024:
- Dec. 2: SpaceX’s SiriusXM Radio Satellite Launch: Witness the Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, deploying the SXM-9 satellite built by Maxar Technologies, which will enhance the SiriusXM satellite network in orbit.
- Dec. 3: Arianespace’s Environmental Mission: A Vega C rocket will launch the Sentinel-1C satellite, a vital part of the European Commission’s mission to provide essential radar imagery for disaster management and climate research.
- Dec. 20: ISRO’s Space Docking Experiment: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will undertake a space docking experiment aimed at enabling future missions that involve human transfers between spacecraft or vehicle refueling.
- TBD: Japan’s ispace Lunar Mission: ispace’s mission will see the Resilience lunar lander journey to the moon, equipped with a rover, a radiation probe, and an artistic project.
- TBD: Blue Origin’s New Glenn Launch: Anticipation builds for the inaugural launch of the New Glenn rocket, which will test Blue Origin’s Blue Ring hardware, marking a significant step in the company’s quest for space exploration.
