The Solar Orbiter (SolO)[1] is a Sun-observing probe developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contribution. Solar Orbiter, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of the polar regions of the Sun which is difficult to do from Earth. These observations are important in investigating how the Sun creates and controls its heliosphere.
Mars 2020 is a NASA mission that includes the rover Perseverance, the now-retired small robotic helicopter Ingenuity, and associated delivery systems, as part of the Mars Exploration Program. Mars 2020 was launched on an Atlas V rocket at 11:50:01 UTC on July 30, 2020,[2] and landed in the Martian crater Jezero on February 18, 2021, with confirmation received at 20:55 UTC.[3] On March 5, 2021, NASA named the landing site Octavia E. Butler Landing.[4] As of 7 February 2025, Perseverance has been on Mars for 1411 sols (1450 total days; 3 years, 355 days).[5][6][7][8][9]Ingenuity operated on Mars for 1042 sols (1071 total days; 2 years, 341 days) before sustaining serious damage to its rotor blades, possibly all four, causing NASA to retire the craft on January 25, 2024.[10][11]
Lucy is a NASAspace probe on a twelve-year journey to eight different asteroids. It is slated to visit two main belt asteroids as well as six Jupiter trojans – asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun, orbiting either ahead of or behind the planet.[15][16] All target encounters will be flyby encounters.[17] The Lucy spacecraft is the centerpiece of a US$981 million mission.[18] It was launched on 16 October 2021.
Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) was the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner capsule. Launched on 5 June 2024, the mission flew a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the International Space Station. The mission was meant to last eight days, ending on 14 June with a landing in the American Southwest. However, Starliner's thrusters malfunctioned as it approached the ISS. After more than two months of investigation, NASA decided it was too risky to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth aboard Starliner. Instead, the Boeing spacecraft returned uncrewed on 7 September 2024, and the astronauts will ride down on the SpaceX Crew-9 spacecraft in March 2025.
Unknown National Reconnaissance Office payload, first Atlas launch with updated GEM-63 strap-on solid rocket boosters. Originally thought to be a Molniya mission. Later sightings instead pointed towards a MEO mission. Likely an experimental payload.
Eighth Landsatgeological survey satellite in orbit. Additionally launched the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Landsat-9 ESPA Flight System (L9EFS) which delivered several additional cubesats to orbit as a result of a cooperative engagement between NASA and U.S. Space Force to increase access to space for small satellite systems.[28]
The primary payload is the STPSat-6 satellite carrying SABRS-3, NASA'sLCRD, and seven Defense Department Space Experiments Review Board space weather and situational awareness payloads. Alongside STPSat-6 was an integrated propulsive EELV Secondary Payload Adapter (IP-ESPA) holding up to six payloads.[32] The STP-3 mission also debuted three engineering features designed to reduce risk and accumulate flight experience before use on Vulcan Centaur: an Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) payload fairings, an in-flight power system and GPS enhanced navigation.[33] The launch was delayed multiple times, first in January due to the launch readiness of the STPSat-6 satellite,[34] in June due to some ringing of the RL10-C's new carbon nozzle extension observed during the SBIRS GEO-5 mission,[35] and in November due to a space vehicle processing issue.[36]
GOES meteorological satellite. GOES-T, which will be renamed GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary orbit, will replace GOES-17 as NOAA's operational GOES West satellite.[40]
Rideshare mission consisting of 2 spacecraft. The forward payload was the Wide-field of View (WFOV) testbed that informs the Next Gen Overhead Persistent Infrared program (NG-OPIR) which will replace the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). The aft payload was a propulsive ESPA named the USSF-12 Ring, which is a style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #EEE); color: var(--color-base, black); vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap; text-align: center; " class="table-Unknown" | Unknown mission for the Department of Defence. 100th flight of an RD-180 engine.
Boeing built communication satellites. Satellites launched on a dual stack configuration. SES-20 will be located as an in-orbit spare at 103° West, while SES-21 will be operated at 131° West.[48]
Second JPSS weather satellite; joint NASA/ULA inflatable heat shield demonstrator (LOFTID).[50] Last launch of an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Final flight of an Atlas V with a 4-meter fairing. 100th use of Single Engine Centaur.
Crewed flight test of the Starliner spacecraft to the ISS, with Sunita Williams and Barry E. Wilmore. First crewed launch of Atlas V. 100th Atlas V launch.
In August 2021, ULA announced that Atlas V would be retired, and all 29 remaining launches had been sold.[56] As of August 2024[update], 15 launches remain, all of which are listed here: six Starliner missions, eight launches for Project Kuiper, and one launch for ViaSat.
NASA has placed firm orders for three Starliner flights once the capsule is certified for operational use. Under the terms of its contract with Boeing it has the option to purchase up to six operational flights, Starliner-1 through Starliner-6, however it is unclear if it will be possible to operate that many missions before the scheduled retirement of the ISS in 2030.[64]
