2nd of the National Team’s Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander test missions to validate the necessary technologies for its HLS lunar module. Some of the life support hardware will travel on this mission in preparation for the first crew Blue Moon flight. This mission will also carry NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar rover. VIPER is designed to explore the relatively nearby but extreme environment of the Moon in search of ice and other potential resources. This mobile robot will land at the South Pole of the Moon on a 100-day mission, in order to teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how we can harvest the Moon's resources for future human space exploration. VIPER is designed to roam the Moon using its three instruments and a 1 meter long drill to detect and analyze various lunar soil environments at a range of depths and temperatures. The rover can venture into permanently shadowed craters, some of the coldest spots in the solar system, where ice reserves have endured for billions of years. The rover was originally slated to launch on Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One lunar lander (with the Falcon Heavy rocket), but the VIPER mission was cancelled in July 2024 due to budget cuts. After consulting with the industry to find alternative ways to deliver the rover to the lunar surface, NASA ultimately chose to launch it with Blue Origin’s 2nd Blue Moon MK1 lander mission.
Low Earth OrbitJSAT-32 is a geostationary communication satellite for SKY Perfect JSAT. Operating in the Ku and Ka frequency bands, JSAT-32 will provide coverage over Japan and its surrounding seas, with newly added spot beams for mobility applications. JSAT-32 will serve as a future replacement for existing SKY Perfect JSAT satellites that provide communication and distribution services in Japan.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitChinggis Sat is a Mongolian national geostationary orbit telecommunications satellite for the Mongolia Ministry of Digital Development and Communications. Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for construction of the high-performance Ku-Band satellite. Once launched, the satellite will make high-speed internet available throughout Mongolia, including to those in rural areas and under-served nomadic communities, enabling easier and wider access to services such as tele-medicine, e-learning, e-government services and supporting the growth of high value add sectors of the economy. It will be positioned at the 113.6° E orbital slot and will be based on the space-proven, cutting-edge SpaceBus 4000 satellite bus.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitNASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is designed to help advance planetary defense efforts to discover and characterize most of the potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. These are collectively known as near-earth objects, or NEOs. NEO Surveyor consists of a single scientific instrument: a 50 centimeter (nearly 20 inch) diameter telescope that operates in two heat-sensing infrared wavelengths. It will be capable of detecting both bright and dark asteroids, which are the most difficult type to find.
Heliocentric L1Dragonfly is NASA's 4th New Frontiers program mission that will send a robotic rotorcraft to fly within the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan to sample materials and determine surface composition in different geologic settings, advancing humanity's search for the building blocks of life. The craft is a large quadcopter with double rotors with mass of about 875 kg, featuring rotors of 1.35 m in diameter. It can fly through several kilometers within an hour and will perform 1 flight per Titan day (~16 Earth days). During the planned 3.3-year mission, Dragonfly is expected to cover distance up to several hundred km. Dragonfly will use a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) to power its instruments. The planned science instrument suite is: * DragonCam: Camera Suite * DrACO: Drill for Acquisition of Complex Organics * DraMS: Mass Spectrometer * DraGNS: Gamma-ray and Neutron Spectrometer * DraGMet: Geophysics and Meteorology
Heliocentric N/AExoMars 2028 is a second mission of two-part European Space Agency astrobiology project to search for evidence of life on Mars. The primary objective is to land the rover at a site with high potential for finding well-preserved organic material, particularly from the very early history of the planet. The rover is expected to travel several kilometers during its mission. The European rover will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth. It will collect samples with a drill down to a depth of 2 m and analyze them with next-generation instruments in an onboard laboratory. Underground samples are more likely to include biomarkers, since the tenuous martian atmosphere offers little protection from radiation and photochemistry at the surface.
Heliocentric N/AA batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Note: Mission profile and payload details are TBD. Demonstration mission for SpaceX’s Project Starfall, which aims to mass-produce reentry capsule…
Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
VICTUS HAZE will see Rocket Lab design, build, launch, and operate a rendezvous proximity operation (RPO) capable spacecraft. U.S. Space Force Space …
Fourteenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Offi…
Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…
AST SpaceMobile’s Block 2 BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth capacity of the BlueBird Block 1 satellites, requi…
Note: Unofficial reports indicate there may be 1 or more additional satellites that failed to separate from the upper stage, however this is not offi…
A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…