Infrastructure
Launch Log, 2024
Interested in this year’s global space activity? Keep track of orbital launch trends with our 2024 launch log. Launch data is updated every day during weekdays, excluding U.S. holidays.
Second Starship test flies higher before failure
With 33 Raptor engines belching flame, SpaceX’s Starship demonstrated the full power of its main booster, reaching an altitude of 91 miles before the second uncrewed attempt to launch the massive rocket from Boca Chica, Texas, ended when the second stage apparently failed.
ESA’s Euclid Telescope reveals first images of the stars
The European Space Agency released an initial batch of full-color images from its Euclid space telescope, showing the capability of the spacecraft’s 600-megapixel camera, which will be used on Euclid’s planned six-year mission to measure the accelerating expansion of the universe.
Space-based Solar Power Investments Rise, but Infrastructure Remains Daunting
Solar is the most abundant energy resource on Earth. In space, unobscured by Earth’s atmosphere, solar energy is even stronger. Space-based solar power (SBSP) is not a new concept, but the field has seen a rise in research and milestones since 2020.
SNAPSHOT: Human Spaceflight
From the early days of the space race, sending humans to space has always been a key priority. The International Space Station (ISS) has maintained a continuous human presence in orbit for more than 20 years, and microgravity research on space stations has provided valuable insight for future long-term human missions in space.
India’s Lunar Landing Highlights Renewed Race to Moon
When Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole, India took center stage in a new Space Race to the Moon. In the coming years, China, Russia, Japan, India, and the U.S. all plan on missions to the Moon.
OSIRIS-REx Delivers Asteroid Sample After Seven Years in Space
After more than a decade’s worth of planning, seven years of space flight, and 1 billion miles of travel, a sample from the asteroid Bennu has returned to Earth — but the work is only beginning.
OSIRIS-REx delivers asteroid sample after seven years in space
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned a sample from the asteroid Bennu, which could help scientists better understand the formation of the solar system. After more than a decade of planning and seven years of space flight traversing more than 1 billion miles, a sample from the asteroid Bennu safely landed on Earth.
As global satellite data expands, space companies rely on AI
While most people may think of ChatGPT or deep fake images when they hear “artificial intelligence”, AI methodologies are proving beneficial for a variety of applications, especially in data-heavy industries such as Earth observation.
India P.M. calls safe landing of lunar probe ‘Dawn of a New Era’
Space workers in India celebrated the landing of their Chandrayaan-3 probe, making it the fourth nation to safely land a spacecraft on the Moon, and had their efforts lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “India is on the Moon,” Modi boomed in a broadcast to India’s 1.4 billion residents.