Infrastructure
After Russian ASAT leak, superpowers back away from showdown
Growing threats from anti-satellite weapons were spotlighted in February when U.S. officials warned Congress about a Russian weapons development program targeting spacecraft with nuclear weapons.
Launch Records Topple in 2024 with Busiest January of Space Age
Averaging a liftoff every 33 hours and 49 minutes, January’s 22 successful launches to space marked the busiest start to a year since the Space Age dawned in 1957, and put the globe on track for 259 launches in 2024, which would easily eclipse records set in 2023, according to a Space Foundation database. If the pace holds, this year could shatter 2023’s record of one launch every 39 hours, which sped past a record set in 2022 with a launch every 47 hours. Since 1957, January launches have proven to be a key predictor for annual launch numbers, with annual launch figures meeting or exceeding the January pace 93% of the time.
Spacecraft Deployments Grew 23% in 2023 Despite Broadband Cooldown
With record launches for the third year running, it’s no surprise that the number of payloads reaching orbit is also skyrocketing. Spacecraft deployed in 2023 grew 23% to 2,891, bringing approximately 1.4 million kg of equipment to space.
University Nanosatellite Launches Skyrocket Over Past Decade
Universities across the globe are building an increasingly large presence in space by attaching student satellite projects to launches. Since the advent of nanosatellites and CubeSats, the barrier to space entry has never been lower for students.
Up to 14 Large Rockets and Tiny Competitors Are Poised for Launch in 2024
Space leaders in 2023 pondered a lack of launch vehicles to lift anticipated swarms of satellites to orbit. But 2024 could bring relief.
Led by Sharp Uptick in Commercial Demand and U.S. Space Launches, All-time Records Topple for Attempts and Successful Space Flights in 2023
In what was the busiest year of the Space Age, 2023 set records with 223 launch attempts and 212 successful launches. A sharp uptick in commercial space launches drove much of the increase, with the highest number of launches coming from the United States.
As Experts Debate Leap Seconds, Universal Time Tangle Grows in Importance
Time, the measurement that science still has difficulty explaining, has allowed everything from transatlantic exploration to space travel and now is the fabric that holds together financial institutions, supply chains and the internet. But if you counted down the closing seconds of 2023 with New Year’s revelers, you were almost certainly wrong.
Axiom-3 Private Mission Brings New Nation, Science to the ISS
The Axiom-3 private mission launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Jan. 18, 2024, one day later than initially expected. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock with the ISS as early as 9:19 a.m. UTC on Saturday.
Facing Safety, Budget Concerns, NASA Delays Artemis Moon Missions
With budget cuts on the horizon and technical hurdles to vault before astronauts return to the Moon, NASA pushed the brakes on its Artemis program launch schedule Tuesday, delaying a planned lunar fly-by mission into 2025 and its planned landing into 2026. The agency cited safety concerns for the delay, including an ongoing investigation into problems with a heatshield, which was damaged when the uncrewed Artemis I capsule re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after a 2022 test flight. The move also comes as congressional negotiators mull slimming the agency’s budget by more than $500 million from its 2023, and $2.2 billion short of NASA’s 2024 budget request.
With Maiden Flight, ULA’s Vulcan Joins 2024’s Stampede to Space
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan launch vehicle successfully roared aloft Monday on its maiden flight from Florida, carrying lunar payloads and keeping up a blistering pace of spaceflight that could drive 2024 past annual records for payloads sent to space and launches set in 2023. The first eight days of 2024 have seen four launches from the United States, including three by SpaceX, along with missions to orbit from India and China.