2020s in spaceflight

This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s.

2020s in spaceflight
NASA plans to assemble a Lunar Gateway as a permanent base in lunar orbit during the 2020s.

Overview

The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue. In 2020 SpaceX plans to launch its new fully reusable Starship.[1] In 2021, Blue Origin plans the maiden flight of New Glenn with a reusable first stage.[2] Ariane 6 and Vulcan are planned to replace their more expensive predecessors in 2021.

Mars stays a focus for missions to other planets, with three missions launched in 2020 (by China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) and at least two missions planned for 2022 (ESA and Japan) and 2024 (India and Japan), respectively.

NASA plans a return of humans to the Moon by 2024. A first uncrewed launch of the Space Launch System is planned for November 2021, followed by a first crewed launch in 2023. In addition it plans to assemble the Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit. A crewed exploration of Mars could follow in the mid 2030s. An uncrewed and then a crewed trip to Jupiter and Europa have been commonly contemplated, but no space agencies or companies have yet announced definite plans to launch a crewed mission further than Mars. SpaceX, a private company, has also announced plans to land humans on Mars in the mid-2020s, with the long-term goal of enabling the colonization of Mars.

India plans its first crewed flight with a spacecraft called Gaganyaan for December 2021 on a home-grown GSLV Mark III rocket. The mission would make India the 4th nation to launch a crewed space flight after Russia, US and China. India also plans to launch its second Mars probe, Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2), in 2024.

The number of small satellites launched annually was expected to grow to around one thousand (2018 estimate),[3] although SpaceX alone plans to launch more than that for its Starlink constellation (12,000 satellites from 2019 to 2027).[4] In the first half of 2020, over 600 satellites were launched to orbit. The majority of the satellites are expected to be communication satellites in large constellations.

Orbital launches

2020
Main article: 2020 in spaceflight

2021
Main article: 2021 in spaceflight

2022
Main article: 2022 in spaceflight

2023
Main article: 2023 in spaceflight

2024
Main article: 2024 in spaceflight

2025
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
Q1 (TBD)[5][6] Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat Vostochny Site 1S Roscosmos
Kanopus-VO №2 Roscosmos Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation 
August (TBD)[7][8] Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Baikonur Roscosmos
Luna 27 Roscosmos Selenocentric Lunar lander 
September (TBD)[9][10] Angara A5P Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Orel Roscosmos Low Earth (ISS) Crewed flight test 
Crewed flight test of the Orel capsule at the International Space Station.
Q3 (TBD)[11][12] Ariane 62 Kourou ELA-4 Arianespace
MTG-I2[14] EUMETSAT Geosynchronous Meteorology 
23 October[15][16] Angara A5 / DM-03 Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Spektr-UV[18] INASAN IGSO Ultraviolet astronomy 
October (TBD)[19][20] Commercial launch vehicle Cape Canaveral TBA
Roman Space Telescope NASA Sun–Earth L2 Infrared astronomy 
Formerly known as WFIRST.[21]
2025 (TBD)[22] Long March 7 Wenchang LC-2 CASC
eXTP[24] CAS Low Earth X-ray astronomy 
Chinese-led X-ray astronomy collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and multiple European institutions.[22]
2025 (TBD)[25] Soyuz-6 Baikonur Site 1/5 Roscosmos
TBA Roscosmos Low Earth Flight test 
First flight of the Soyuz-6.
2025 (TBD)[26] Vega-C Kourou ELV Arianespace
e.Deorbit[27] ESA Low Earth Satellite servicing
Space debris removal		 
2025 (TBD)[28] Vega-E Kourou ELV Arianespace
TBA ESA Low Earth Flight test 
First flight of Vega-E.
2025 (TBD)[29] TBA Kourou Arianespace
ClearSpace-1 ClearSpace Low Earth Space debris removal 
ClearSpace-1 will capture and de-orbit the Vespa payload adapter that deployed PROBA-V in 2013.
2025 (TBD)[30][31] TBA TBA TBA
NEO Surveyor NASA Sun–Earth L1 Infrared astronomy
Near-Earth object detection		 
Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission (NEOSM).
2025 (TBD)[32] TBA TBA TBA
Sentinel-6B NASA / NOAA / Eumetsat / ESA Low Earth Earth observation 

2026
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
April (TBD)[33] TBA TBA TBA
Dragonfly NASA Heliocentric (to Saturn) Exploration of Titan 
Rotorcraft probe to fly in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan.[34]
July (TBD)[35][36] Commercial launch vehicle TBA TBA
Sample Retrieval Lander NASA / ESA TMI to Martian Surface Mars sample-return 
Lander component of the NASA–ESA Mars sample-return mission. It will carry the ESA's Sample Fetch Rover and the Mars Ascent Vehicle.
October (TBD)[35][36] Ariane 6 Kourou ELA-4 Arianespace
Earth Return Orbiter ESA Areocentric Mars sample-return 
Orbiter component of the NASA–ESA Mars sample-return mission. It will collect the sample return canister delivered into orbit by the Mars Ascent Vehicle and carry it back to Earth.
2026 (TBD)[9] Angara A5P Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Orel Roscosmos Low Earth Crewed flight test 
2026 (TBD)[37] Soyuz ST-B / Fregat-MT Kourou ELS Arianespace
PLATO ESA Sun–Earth L2 Exoplanetary science 
2026 (TBD)[38] Vega-C Kourou ELV Arianespace
FORUM ESA Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation 
Ninth Earth Explorer mission for ESA's Living Planet Programme. FORUM is baselined for launch on the Vega-C, and will fly in a loose sun-synchronous formation with MetOp-SG A1.[39]

2027
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
2027 (TBD)[40][41] Angara A5 / DM-03 Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Luna 28 Roscosmos Selenocentric Lunar lander
Lunar sample return		 
2027 (TBD)[9] Angara A5P Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Orel Roscosmos Low Earth Crewed flight test 
2027 (TBD)[42] H3 Tanegashima LA-Y2 MHI
LiteBIRD[44] JAXA Sun–Earth L2 Space observatory 
2027 (TBD)[45] Long March 5 Wenchang LC-1 CASC
Chang'e 8 CNSA Selenocentric Lunar lander 

2028
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
2028 (TBD)[46] Angara A5 / KVTK[47] Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Luna 29 Roscosmos Selenocentric Lunar rover
Lunar sample return		 
2028 (TBD)[48][49] Ariane 62 Kourou ELA-4 Arianespace
ARIEL ESA Sun–Earth L2 Exoplanetary science 
Comet Interceptor ESA / JAXA Sun–Earth L2 Comet flyby 
2028 (TBD)[50][51] Yenisei Vostochny PU3 Roscosmos
Orel Roscosmos Low Earth Flight test 
First flight of the Yenisei super heavy-lift launch vehicle.

2029
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
2029 (TBD)[9] Yenisei Vostochny PU3 Roscosmos
Orel Roscosmos Lunar free-return Crewed lunar flyby 
Crewed lunar flyby in preparation for a Russian crewed mission to the lunar surface in 2030.

Deep-space rendezvous after 2024

Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
9 January 2025 BepiColombo Sixth gravity assist at Mercury
5 December 2025 BepiColombo Hermocentric orbit insertion at Mercury


References
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Generic references:
 Spaceflight portal
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