Aerospace History Timeline

The History of Flight from Around the World
2024

• December 31, 2024 – Florida’s Space Coast Breaks Launch Year Record – Florida’s Space Coast caps off a record-breaking year with 93 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, up from 74 launches in 2023.
• December 26, 2024 – China Unveils New Advanced Combat Aircraft – China unveils its new advanced combat aircraft, believed to be sixth-generation stealth fighters. One new aircraft appears in social media posts revealing a large, three-engine warplane with a cockpit and diamond-style wing and no vertical tails with yaw control appearing to be managed by B-2-style split rudders.
• December 25, 2024 – Russia Launches 2,000th Semyorka Rocket – The Russian space program reaches a significant milestone with the 2,000th launch of a rocket from the “R-7” family of boosters. The launch takes place on Christmas Day when an R-7 rocket lifts off carrying a remote-sensing satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This family of rockets has a lengthy heritage dating back nearly six decades.
• December 24, 2024 – Parker Solar Probe Makes Closest-Ever Approach to the Sun – NASA’s Parker Solar Probe makes a record-breaking approach to the sun at 6:53 ET, coming within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface — the closest any human-made object has ever come to a star.
• December 22, 2024 – Rocket Lab Launches Private Earth-imaging Satellite – Rocket Lab launches a private Earth-imaging satellite as part of the “Owl The Way Up” mission, which deploys a Strix radar-imaging satellite for the Japanese company Synspective.
• December 17, 2024 – Joby Aviation Completes FAA Aerostructure Tests – Joby Aviation completes a series of major aerostructure tests to gain certification approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
• December 16 and 17, 2024 – Chinese Astronauts Complete Record-Breaking 9-Hour Spacewalk Outside Tiangong Space Station – Two Chinese astronauts, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong, spend more than nine hours outside the nation’s Tiangong space station surpassing the old EVA duration record by 10 minutes.
• December 16, 2024 – SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Expedited GPS Mission for U.S. Space Force – SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a GPS III satellite to the U.S. Space Force. The launch is part of a National Security Space Launch (NSSL) mission.
• December 12, 2024 – Airbus A321XLR GTF Engine Receives FAA Certification – Pratt & Whitney receives FAA certification for the GTF engine that will power the Airbus A321XLR. The FAA updates the engine type certificate to include the A321XLR.
• December 12, 2024 – Kratos Completes First Flight of Thanatos UCAV – Kratos Defense and Security successfully performs the first flight of its Thanatos UCAV. The Thanatos is a stealthy, uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) designed to carry out autonomous intelligence-gathering and strike missions.
• December 9, 2024 – SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 23 Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral – SpaceX launches its latest Falcon 9, adding 23 more Starlink satellites to its growing mega-constellation. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-5 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happens at 12:30 a.m. EST.
• December 5, 2024 – Vega C Successfully Launches for First Time in Nearly Two Years ‐ A Vega C successfully launches an Earth observation satellite in the rocket’s first flight since a failure nearly two years ago. The Vega C lifts off from the European spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:20 p.m. Eastern.
• December 4, 2024 – SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission from California on 350th Mission – SpaceX notches another milestone in spaceflight reusability when it not only launches a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket booster for the 350th time in program history, but also performs its 300th successful booster landing.
• December 1, 2024 – Croatian Air Force Retires Europe’s Last MiG-21 Fighters – Croatia’s Ministry of Defense announces that its MiG-21s in Europe — the last of the classic Cold War-era MiG-21 Fishbed fighters which equip its sole fighter squadron — will no longer defend the country’s airspace during peacetime quick reaction alert (QRA) duty.
• November 2024 – Bombardier Global 7500 Sets More Than 75 Speed Records – Bombardier’s Global 7500 jet sets 75 speed records to date, highlighting its top speed and impressive range. The new records build on earlier speed-setting flights, which include an 8,225-nm flight in October 2019 from Sydney to Detroit.
• November 25, 2024 – Rocket Lab Successfully Conducts Two Launches Within 24 Hours – Rocket Lab sets a new speed record for launch turnaround time, successfully executing two Electron missions in 24 hours. It is also the first time any launch operator completes a mission from each hemisphere within a 24-hour time frame.
• November 22, 2024 – Blue Origin Launches Third Crewed New Shepard Mission of 2024 – Blue Origin launches a civilian astronaut crew to the edge of space on its New Shepard rocket in its ninth human spaceflight mission, which lasts 10 minutes.
• November 19, 2024 – SpaceX Launches Super Heavy-Starship on Sixth Test Flight – SpaceX launches the world’s most powerful rocket, the Super Heavy-Starship, to evaluate a variety of safety and performance upgrades. Liftoff from Boca Chica, Texas, takes place at 5 p.m. EST
• November 19, 2024 – Bayraktar TB3 Drone Takes Off and Lands on Short-Runway Ship for First Time – A Bayraktar TB3 drone successfully takes off from the short-runway ship TCG Anadolu and conducts a 46-minute flight test between the Aegean and Mediterranean seas before successfully landing on the vessel, marking a world first in both aviation and maritime history.
• November 18, 2024 – SpaceX Launches India’s GSAT-N2 Satellite on Falcon 9 – SpaceX launches a communications satellite for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), marking the first time SpaceX launches a payload for India. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurs at 1:31 p.m. EST.
• November 17, 2024 – SpaceX Launches 20 Starlink Satellites from California – SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket with another 20 Starlink satellites from California. Liftoff from from Vandenberg Space Force Base takes place at 9:53 p.m. PST (12:53 a.m. EST).
• November 16, 2024 – India Tests Long-Range, Hypersonic Missile – India tests a long-range, hypersonic missile off the country’s eastern coast. The hypersonic missile is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 km for India’s Armed Forces.
• November 15, 2024 – Tianzhou-8 Spacecraft Delivers Supplies to Tiangong space station – A cargo spacecraft arrives at China’s Tiangong space station, delivering supplies, experiments and equipment to support crewed missions. The Tianzhou-8 spacecraft launches atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport at 10:13 a.m. Eastern.
• November 13, 2024 – Beta Electric Aircraft Performs First Test Flight – Beta founder and CEO, Kyle Clark, conducts the first flight of the company’s electric aircraft, which lasts nearly an hour. During the flight, the aircraft takes off and climbs to 7,000 feet while performing several approaches before making a normal landing.
• November 12, 2024 – General Atomics Gray Eagle STOL Performs First Ship-to-Land Flight – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., in collaboration with South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace, successfully launches a Gray Eagle STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) from the South Korean Navy’s amphibious landing ship Dokdo and lands it at Pohang Navy Airfield.
• November 10–11, 2024 – Private Chinese Rocket Launches First Satellite for International Customer – CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 rocket lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 11:03 p.m. Eastern time, Nov. 10, or 12:03 p.m. Beijing time, Nov. 11, marking the first time CAS Space provides launch services to a customer outside of China.
• November 9, 2024 – Notre Dame Unveils World’s First Hypersonic Mach 10 Wind Tunnel – The University of Notre Dame marks the opening of a Large Mach 10 Quiet Wind Tunnel, the first and only facility of its kind in the world. The facility can simulate flight conditions up to 10 times the speed of sound.
• November 7, 2024 – Dawn Hypersonics Debuts with Supersonic Flight – Dawn Hypersonics achieves supersonic flight with their prototype Mk-II Aurora aircraft off the coast of New Zealand. The Mk-II Aurora completes a 66,000 foot ascent in just 118.6 seconds, beating the previous decades-old record by more than 4 seconds.
• November 5, 2024 – Boom Supersonic Test Aircraft Approaches Speed of Sound – Boom Supersonic’s test aircraft, the XB-1, reaches a new top speed of Mach 0.82 during its seventh test flight, marking a significant step towards approaching the speed of sound (Mach 1).
• November 5, 2024 – First Ever Wood-Panelled Satellite Arrives at ISS – The world’s first wood-panelled satellite, a tiny Japanese spacecraft weighing just 900g, arrives at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule.
• October 30, 2024 – China’s Three-Person Crew Arrives at Tiangong Space Station – A Chinese space ship carrying a three-person crew makes an automated rendezvous and docking with the the Tiangong space station at 11 a.m. (Beijing Time).
• October 30, 2024 – SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 23 Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink satellites lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:10 p.m. EDT. The first stage returns to Earth for a vertical touchdown approximately 8 minutes later, landing on SpaceX’s droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, in the Atlantic Ocean.
• October 29, 2024 – Shenzhou-19 Spacecraft Launches Carrying China’s Third Female Astronaut – China launches a three-person crew carrying the country’s third female astronaut to the Tiangong space station for a six-month mission. The Shenzhou-19 spacecraft lifts off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China at 4.27 a.m. Beijing time.
• October 29, 2024 – American Airlines Sets New Record with its Longest Flight by Distance – American Airlines makes history with the arrival of its inaugural nonstop service from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Australia’s Brisbane Airport. The flight sets a new record for the longest route by distance flown by American Airlines.
• October 25, 2025 – Crew-8 Splashes Down Off the Coast of Florida – NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin return to Earth after spending more than seven months in space.
• October 23, 2024 – Blue Origin’s Second Human-rated New Shepard Makes First Flight – Blue Origin makes the first flight of a new model of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle. The uncrewed NS-27 mission lifts off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 11:26 a.m. Eastern.
• October 22, 2024 – FAA Announces Pilot Training, Certification Rules for Air Taxis – The FAA finalizes training and pilot certification rules for flying air taxis, addressing a key hurdle to the deployment of eVTOL aircraft.
• October 20, 2024 – USC Student Team Breaks Amateur Rocket Launch Record – A team of students at the University of Southern California officially sets a new record for the highest amateur space launch. The rocket, Aftershock II, reaches a height of about 470,000 feet (about 90 miles), beating the existing record for highest amateur space flight by about 80,000 feet.
• October 20, 2024 – SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Eutelsat Satellites – A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 20 Eutelsat OneWeb satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 1:13 a.m. EDT.
• October 18, 2024 – Rolls-Royce Completes Test flights for Pearl 10X Engine – Rolls-Royce completes flight testing of the Pearl 10X engine it is developing for the Dassault Aviation Falcon 10X business jet after a six-month campaign. The powerplant had been in flight test since March 29.
• October 16, 2024 – Airbus Completes Loading of Autonomous Helicopter in First Demo – Airbus U.S. Space and Defense conducts its first demonstration of an autonomous, uncrewed UH-72 Lakota helicopter as part of a program for the U.S. Marine Corps.
• October 14, 2024 – NASA Launches Europa Clipper Mission to Explore Jupiter’s Moon – NASA launches the Europa Clipper mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 12:06 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• October 13, 2024 – SpaceX Starship Booster Caught by Launch Gantry During Landing – SpaceX launches its fifth Starship vehicle, successfully making an unprecedented catch of its Super Heavy booster with a pair of mechanical arms on the launch gantry 7 minutes after liftoff.
• October 8, 2024 – Aurora Unveils High-Speed VTOL X-Plane Concept Design – Aurora Flight Sciences unveils new details of a notional operational variant of the fan-in-wing concept it is proposing for a high-speed, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) X-Plane.
• October 7, 2024 – Europe’s Hera Asteroid Mission Launches – Europe’s Hera Asteroid Mission launches at 10:52 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, aiming to study the aftermath of NASA’s DART impact on the asteroid Dimorphos.
• October 4, 2024 – Europe’s ULA’s New Vulcan Centaur Rocket Launches in 2nd Test – ULA’s powerful new Vulcan Centaur rocket, the successor to ULA’s Atlas V, launches at 7:25 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, kicking off a key test flight called Cert-2.
• September 12, 2024 – SpaceX Sets New Launch Record at Vandenberg – SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 from California. The launch sets a new record for Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first time that 31 orbital missions have launched in one calendar year. Thirty launches are performed by SpaceX with one by Firefly Aerospace.
• September 12, 2024 – Polaris Astronauts Become First Private Citizens to Complete Spacewalk – Jared Isaacman performs the first spacewalk by a private citizen. He is followed by Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer. The spacewalk kicks off just before 7 a.m. ET, when Isaacman exits the hatch. Isaacman and Gillis spend several minutes each outside the capsule.
• September 10, 2024 – Polaris Dawn Crew Achieve Record High Orbit Above Earth – Billionaire Jared Isaacman and his crew travel to altitudes not visited by any astronaut since the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and ’70s. Two crew members, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, travel farther from the planet than any other women ever.
• September 5, 2024 – SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches On National Security Mission for NRO – SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket with an undisclosed number of satellites, believed to be Starshield satellites, on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Liftoff of the NROL-113 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base occurs at 8:20 p.m. PDT.
• September 5, 2024 – China’s Reusable Spaceplane Returns to Earth After 267 Days in Orbit – China’s experimental reusable spaceplane returns to Earth, completing its third orbital mission, per a report issued by State media Xinhua, which, similar in duration to the second mission in 2023, lasts 276 days.
• September 5, 2024 – Self-Flying Cessna Begins Testing for FAA Validation – Merlin Labs announces it began what it claims is the first test campaign of a certification-ready, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomous flight system. The Merlin Pilot is intended to one day allow small aircraft to fly with no humans on board.
• September 5, 2024 – NASA Shares 1st Photo of its Giant Solar Sail – NASA releases the first image of its open solar sail, formally called the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and states that the spacecraft from which the sail was released will continue to send back more footage and data as time goes on.
• July 18, 2024 – Vertical Aerospace Unveils New eVTOL Prototype – Vertical Aerospace reveals a new generation full-scale VX4 eVTOL prototype boasting a 20% increase in its power to weight ratio, which allows the aircraft to reach a speed of 150mph.
• July 13, 2024 – Boeing 777X Receives FAA Approval for Certification Flights – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants Boeing the green light to begin certification flight testing of the 777-9X. The first certification flight took place on July 12, 2024
• July 13, 2024 – Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus Spacecraft Re-enters Earth’s Atmosphere – The Cygnus NG-20 cargo spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and burns up.
• July 12, 2024 – Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus Spacecraft Departs ISS – The Cygnus NG-20 cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station (ISS) at 6:01 AM Central.
• July 12, 2024 – Boeing 777X Makes First Certification Flight – Boeing test pilots conduct the first certification flight test with FAA personnel aboard the aircraft. The flight takes off from Boeing Field just after 6 p.m. and lands there again nearly two hours later after flying along the Washington and Oregon coast.
• July 12, 2024 – Russia Passenger Jet Crashes Near Moscow During Test Flight – A Sukhoi Superjet 100 operated by Gazpromavia crashes following repairs during a test flight from Tretyakovo Airport to Vnukovo International Airport. All three crew members, the only occupants on board, are killed.
• July 12, 2024 – Webb Space Telescope Marks Two Full Years of Scientific Discoveries – NASA officials mark two full years of scientific results from the telescope with the release of an image, which shows a pair of intertwined galaxies, known as Arp 142, nicknamed the Penguin and the Egg.
• July 11, 2024 – SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Suffers Major Malfunction During Starlink Launch – SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites from California, but the engine powering the rocket’s second stage suffers a catastrophic failure during an attempt to carry out a final burn to raise the low point of the orbit, losing 20 Starlink satellites. SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk refers to the anomaly as a “RUD,” a tongue-in-cheek acronym that stands for “rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
• July 10, 2024 – Joe Engle, X-15 Rocket Plane and Space Shuttle Astronaut, Dies at 91 – Joe Engle, the first astronaut to fly in space on two different winged vehicles, passes away at his home in Houston, Texas, at the age of 91. Engle is the first pilot to fly both the X-15 and the space shuttle and is also the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut.
• July 10, 2024 – Chinese Commercial Rocket Company Suffers 4th Launch Failure – Chinese commercial rocket firm iSpace launches its four-stage Hyperbola-1 solid rocket from Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi Desert at 7:40 p.m. Eastern (2340 UTC), but state media Xinhua later announces the mission ends in failure.
• July 9, 2024 – First Ariane 6 Mission Partially Successful – The first Ariane 6 medium- to heavy-lift launcher places payloads into orbit in its debut flight and partially demonstrates its technology features. The Ariane 62 lifts off at 4 p.m. local time (3 p.m. EDT) from Kourou, French Guiana.
• July 5, 2024 – James Webb Space Telescope Finds Jeweled Ring in the Cosmos –The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captures an image of a “jeweled ring.” The image is of a quasar called RX J1131-1231, located six billion light-years from Earth.
• July 4, 2024 – China’s Long March 6A Rocket Launches – China’s Long March 6A rocket launches at 10:49 PM UTC from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China. The mission places Tianhui-5 2-01 satellites into low Earth orbit. .
• July 3, 2024 – Chinese Astronauts Install Space-Junk Shielding on Tiangong Space Station – A pair of Chinese astronauts, Ye Guangfu and Li Cong, conduct Tiangong’s 16th-ever EVA, installing space debris protection outside the nation’s Tiangong space station. The pair spend about 6.5 hours working outside.
• June 30, 2024 – Chinese Rocket Accidentally Launches During Test and Then Crashes – Japan’s A Chinese Tianlong-3 rocket accidentally separates from its testing platform while its propulsion system is being tested and lifts off from its launchpad, climbing into the air before crashing into a nearby mountain and exploding in flames.
• June 30, 2024 – H3 Launches ALOS-4 Advanced Earth Observation Satellite – Japan’s H3 rocket successfully launches an Earth observation satellite on its third flight. The H3 rocket lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 11:06 p.m. Eastern (0306 UTC, July 1), carrying the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 (ALOS-4), also known as DAICHI-4.
• June 28, 2024 – NRO Launches Second Mission of Proliferated Architecture – The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), in partnership with U.S. Space Force Launch Delta 30, and SpaceX, launches its second mission of proliferated architecture, NROL-186, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
• June 26, 2024 – Russian Satellite Breakup Creates More Than 100 Pieces of Debris – U.S. Space Command confirms that a defunct Russian satellite breaks up in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), creating more than 100 pieces of debris. Space Command says the breakup takes place at 10:00 a.m. MT.
• June 25, 2024 – Falcon Heavy Launches GOES-U Weather Satellite – A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off carrying the final spacecraft in a series of geostationary weather satellites. The Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off at 5:26 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• June 25, 2024 – China Becomes First Country to Retrieve Rocks from Far Side of the Moon – China successfully returns a capsule full of lunar soil from the far side of the moon. The sample, retrieved by the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-6 lander after a 53-day mission, spotlights China’s growing capabilities in space.
• June 20, 2024 – Rocket Lab Marks Milestone with 50th Electron Rocket Launch – Rocket Lab successfully reaches a milestone that few commercial rockets have achieved and at a pace that outperformed its competition. The company launches its 50th Electron rocket to date just seven years after the vehicle’s debut in May 2017.
• June 20, 2024 – Upgraded Bell CH-146C Mk II Griffon Performs First Flight for RCAF – The first Royal Canadian Air Force Bell CH-146 Griffon to have completed the CH-146C Mk II upgrade performs its maiden flight.
• June 12, 2024 – Armenia Joins Artemis Accords – Armenia signs the Artemis Accords regarding safe and responsible space exploration, the tenth country to do so in 2024.
• June 9, 2024 – Boeing’s 1st Starliner Astronaut Mission Extended – NASA and Boeing Space teams set a return date of no earlier than Tuesday, June 18, for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The additional time in orbit will allow the crew to perform a spacewalk as engineers complete Starliner systems checkouts.
• June 8, 2024 – Virgin Galactic Performs 7th Commercial Sub-Orbital Space Flight – Two pilots, a Turkish research astronaut and three private citizens rocket to space and back aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity spaceplane, experiencing about three minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to touchdown in New Mexico. It is the company’s 12th piloted up-and-down sub-orbital flight.
• June 7, 2024 – William A. Anders, 90, Dies – Maj. Gen. William A. Anders, who flew on the first manned space mission to orbit the moon, the Apollo 8 “Genesis flight” of Christmas Eve 1968, and took the color photograph “Earthrise,” which is credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement, dies in a plane crash off the coast of Washington state at the age of 90.
• June 7, 2024 – FAA Orders G500 and G600 Inspections, Citing Engine-Mount ‘Quality Escape’ – The FAA orders inspections of the Gulfstream G500 and G600 fleet in response to a “quality escape” involving improperly installed engine-mounting hardware.
• June 6, 2024 – Chang’e-6 Spacecraft Docks in Lunar Orbit Ahead of Journey Back to Earth – An ascent vehicle docks with the Chang’e-6 service module at 2:48 a.m. ET, in an important step towards bringing the first lunar far side samples to Earth. Transfer of a lunar material container to a reentry module is completed at 3:24 a.m., the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announces.
• June 6, 2024 – Starliner Docks with Space Station – Boeing’s Starliner capsule, carrying a pair of NASA astronauts, docks with the ISS, completing the first leg of an important test flight after several of its thrusters go offline, forcing a last-minute scramble to troubleshoot the issue.
• June 6, 2024 – Starship Completes First-Ever Successful Landing Burn. – SpaceX launches its mammoth Starship rocket at 7:50 a.m. CDT and experiences a successful separation from the booster, which sees 32 of 33 engines igniting properly during launch, about seven minutes into the flight.
• June 5, 2024 – Archer Aviation Receives FAA Approval to Start Commercial Services – The Federal Aviation Administration grants Archer Aviation its Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate. The certification allows Archer to begin commercial operations for its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
• June 5, 2024 – Boeing’s Starliner Capsule Successfully Launches Atop an Atlas V Rocket – As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams lift off at 10:52 a.m. EDT on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.
• June 3, 2024 – Chang’e-6’s Moon Samples Collected and Launched into Lunar Orbit – Material from the far side of the moon begins its journey for Earth after the Chinese spacecraft collects samples and launches them into lunar orbit. The Chang’e-6 mission ascent vehicle lifts off from atop the mission lander in Apollo crater at 7:38 p.m. Eastern, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announces.
• June 2, 2024 – Chinese Spacecraft Lands on Far Side of Moon – A Chinese spacecraft, named Chang’e-6, lands on the far side of the moon to collect soil and rock samples. The landing module touches down at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time in a huge crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin.
• May 30, 2024 – Indian Space Startup Agnikul Launches Country’s Second Privately Built Rocket – India’s Agnikul Cosmos launches its Agnibaan rocket for the first time in the country’s second flight of a privately built rocket. Launch takes place from the company’s private launchpad, ALP-01, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), at 7:15 a.m. IST
• May 30, 2024 – Peru and Slovakia Sign Artemis Accords – Peru and Slovakia sign the Artemis Accords outlining best practices for responsible space exploration, bringing the number of countries who have signed to 42.
• May 29, 2024 – India Flight Tests New Rudram-II Air-launched Missile – India’s state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation flight tests a new version of its Rudram air-launched missile, the Indian Ministry of Defence announces. Rudram-II is successfully fired from an Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft off the coast of India’s eastern state of Odisha.
• May 28, 2024 – Robotic Russian Cargo Craft Departs ISS, Burns Up in Earth’s Atmosphere – Russia’s uncrewed Progress 86 cargo craft departs the ISS in the early morning, wrapping up a six-month orbital stay.
• May 28, 2024 – SpaceX Launches ESA’s EarthCARE Mission on Falcon 9 – A SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launches an Earth science mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 6:20 p.m. Eastern for Europe and Japan. EarthCARE is an $870 million ESA-led mission to study clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere.
• May 27, 2024 – South Korea Creates New KASA Space Agency – South Korea announces the creation of a new space agency with the aim of landing its own spacecraft on the moon and Mars in the coming decades.
• May 24, 2024 – China’s Secretive Spaceplane Releases Object into Orbit – China’s experimental reusable spacecraft releases an unknown object into orbit while conducting its third mission. U.S. Space Force space domain awareness teams catalog the object as 59884 (International designator 2023-195G).
• May 24, 2024 – FAA Issues Final Airworthiness Criteria for Archer Midnight eVTOL – The FAA issues the final airworthiness criteria for Archer Aviation’s piloted four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft, marking a significant regulatory milestone, and providing the company with a pathway to achieving type certification for Midnight.
• May 23, 2024 – SpaceX launches 23 Starlink Satellites on 5th Anniversary of its First Dedicated Starlink Mission – SpaceX completes its third Falcon 9 launch in less than 48 hours with a mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, placing another 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
• May 22, 2024 – SpaceX Launches 23 Starlink Satellites – SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Florida, marking the second mission in less than 24 hours for the company.
• May 22, 2024 – SpaceX Launches First Satellites for New US Spy Constellation – SpaceX launches the first batch of operational spy satellites it built as part of a new U.S. intelligence network designed to upgrade its space-based surveillance powers, the first of multiple deployments planned for 2024.
• May 21, 2024 – Heron TP Drone Makes First Flight in Germany – The German Heron TP (GHTP) remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) takes flight in German airspace for the first time.
• May 21, 2024 – China Launches Test Satellite to Very Low Earth Orbit – China launches four satellites to test out new technologies. A Kuaizhou-11 solid rocket lifts off above Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 12:15 a.m. EDT (12:15 p.m. Beijing time)
• May 20, 2024 – Saudia Group Places Historic Airbus Order – Saudia Group places a large order for 105 Airbus narrow-body aircraft, marking the largest in the country’s history.
• May 19, 2024 – Blue Origin Resumes Crewed Flights with NS-25 Mission – Blue Origin launches a crew of astronauts to the edge of space, returning the New Shepard rocket to crewed flight after a pause of almost two years. The mission is a success with a special historical note: Ed Dwight, who was the first Black astronaut candidate in the 1960s but not selected to join NASA at the time, is part of the crew. AIAA Statement
• May 15, 2024 – Heron TP Drone Makes Maiden Flight in Germany – The German Heron TP remotely piloted aircraft system, developed in collaboration between Airbus and Israel Aerospace Industries, flies in German airspace for the first time.
• May 15, 2024 – Lithuania Becomes 40th Artemis Accords Signatory – Lithuania signs the Artemis Accords, becoming the 40th nation to join.
• May 9, 2024 – SpaceX Launches 13 More Direct to Cell Starlink Satellites on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg – SpaceX launches the Starlink 8-2 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:30 p.m. PDT (12:30 a.m. EDT).
• May 8, 2024 – Archer Introduces ‘Automotive Style’ Battery Pack to Air Taxi Production Line – Archer Aviation announces it has completed the installation of an “automotive style” battery pack manufacturing line within its integrated test lab and manufacturing facilities in San Jose, California, which will help produce thousands of lithium-ion battery packs for its flagship Midnight air taxi.
• May 7, 2024 – China Introduces New Long March 6C Rocket – China completes the first launch of its Long March 6C rocket, a new variant of the Long March 6A rocket. Carrying four satellites, the rocket lifts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province at 11:21 a.m. local time.
• May 6, 2024 – Crewed Starliner Launch Scrubbed Due to Valve Issue – Controllers scrub the first attempt to launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on a crewed test flight a little more than two hours before the scheduled 10:34 p.m. Eastern launch because of a valve problem with the rocket, delaying the launch by at least four days.
• May 3, 2024 – China Embarks on World-First Mission to Collect Samples from Far Side of Moon – China launches a Long March 5 rocket topped with an 8.3-ton spacecraft named Chang’e 6 at 5:27 p.m. local time (5:27 a.m. Eastern) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the island of Hainan. The Chang’e 6 mission aims to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth within two months.
• May 2, 2024 – SpaceX Launches Maxar’s First 2 WorldView Legion Satellites After Years of Delays – The first two satellites in Maxar’s WorldView Legion constellation lift off, a significant milestone for the program after years of delays. SpaceX launches the satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force base in California at 11:37 a.m. PT. SpaceX confirms deployment at 12:29 p.m. PT.
• April 30, 2024 – Uncrewed Dragon Cargo Mission Splashes Down – SpaceX’s Dragon cargo ship returns to Earth with an ocean splashdown off the coast of Florida around 2:30 a.m. EDT.
• April 29, 2024 – Joby Completes Second Air Taxi Prototype – eVTOL air taxi manufacturer Joby Aviation rolls out the second prototype aircraft built on its pilot production line at Marina Municipal Airport in California, which is expected to join its initial prototype at Edwards Air Force Ba