Flyby of the Trojan binary asteroid pair (617) Patroclus and Menoetius by NASA's Lucy mission.
Lucy is the first mission to explore and study Trojan asteroids. The Trojans are a type of asteroids that orbit the Sun in two groups, in front of and behind Jupiter in its orbit around our star. Since these asteroids have been in such stable orbits for billions of years, they are of great interest as remnants of early Solar System. Lucy is a NASA mission led by NASA Goddard and Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Over the course of 12 years, Lucy will fly by seven different Trojan asteroids and also one main belt asteroid. The complex trajectory to visit all targets will include several Earth gravity assists.
Heliocentric N/AFirst test flight of Indian SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle).
Lunar orbiter designed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to demonstrate technologies, survey lunar resources and produce a topographic…
Note: Launch time is approximate. Probable reflight of the Chinese spaceplane capable of returning to Earth, which flew in orbit September 4 - 6, …
NS-22 is the sixth crewed New Shepard flight, carrying six passengers.
Sixth geosynchronous satellite of the Space Based Infrared System program (SBIRS), providing capabilities for early missile warning and missile defen…
Classified payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Note: Launch vehicle and payload uncertain. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Monitoring Satellite (TECIS) is intended to evaluate forest biomass, …
Per reports this may be a military inspector satellite, capable of monitoring other satellites in orbit. Its payload also allows for Earth observatio…
3 Chinese reconnaissance satellites.