Spaceflight Highlights Of 2020

Graham Warwick December 08, 2020
Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 servicing spacecraft
Credit: Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 servicing spacecraft docked with Intelsat 901 on Feb. 25, beginning a five-year mission to extend the communications satellite’s operating life in geosynchronous orbit.

Long March 5B launch
Credit: China Ministry of National Defense

After being launched by Long March 5B on an unpiloted test flight on May 5, the reentry capsule for a new manned Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth successfully three days later on May 8.

NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Credit: NASA

In May, NASA renamed its threatened Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Named in honor of the pioneering woman astronomer, it is planned for launch in 2025.

U.S. Air Force Boeing X-37B mini-shuttle
Credit: U.S. Air Force

Following a record 779-day mission that ended in 2019, a U.S. Air Force Boeing X-37B mini-shuttle was launched by an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral AFS on May 17 for a sixth orbital mission.

Northrop Grumman Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO)
Credit: Northrop Grumman

In June, Northrop Grumman was awarded a $187 million NASA contract to begin design of the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) as the initial crew cabin for the lunar-orbiting Gateway.

SpaceX Crew Dragon commercial space taxi
Credit: NASA

Launched on May 30, SpaceX ferried two astronauts to the International Space Station on the first crewed test flight of its Crew Dragon commercial space taxi. The Demo-2 mission ended Aug. 2 with a successful parachute splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida.

United Launch Alliance heavy-lift launcher
Credit: United Launch Alliance

The U.S. Air Force in August announced it will stick with incumbents United Launch Alliance and SpaceX for medium- and heavy-lift launches over the next five years, awarding them contracts worth a combined $653 million.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency HTV cargo vehicle
Credit: NASA

The ninth and final Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency HTV cargo vehicle departed the International Space Station Aug. 18 filled with trash, for a destructive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital space transportation system
Credit: Blue Origin

After a 10-month hiatus, Blue Origin on Oct. 13 resumed flight-testing of its New Shepard suborbital space transportation system with a seventh flight of the reusable booster and capsule.

NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft
Credit: NASA

The sample head of NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft touched down on the asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20 to collect surface material. The probe is scheduled to depart for Earth in March 2021 and to release its sample-return capsule in September 2023.

From the first satellite-servicing mission in geostationary orbit to the first crew-transfer mission to the International Space Station from U.S. soil in nine years, here are some of the spaceflight milestones of 2020.

Graham Warwick

Graham leads Aviation Week's coverage of technology, focusing on engineering and technology across the aerospace industry, with a special focus on identifying technologies of strategic importance to aviation, aerospace and defense.