2022 has been an astounding year for the space industry with a grand total of 193 launches world-wide, majority of which being the United States and China.

DISCLAIMER: This is subject to many factors and it is possible a number of these missions could move into 2024 or further, this article will not be maintained to reflect as such and you can stay up-to-date via our website and Twitter (@TLPN_Official).

SpaceX | Starship | Orbital Flight Test

SpaceX will attempt the maiden launch of a fully integrated Starship rocket from their launch and test facility in Boca Chica (“Starbase”), Texas. 

Starship is SpaceX’s next generation launch vehicle designed to loft payloads and Crew to the Moon and Mars. Starship is vital to NASA’s Artemis program, the agency's program to return humanity to the Lunar surface, of which Starship will perform the landing on the moon.

Although a test Starlink satellite is sealed inside Ship 24’s payload bay, SpaceX will not be attempting to deploy any payloads on this flight.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

ULA | Vulcan Centaur | Maiden Flight (Peregrine Lander & Kuiper Satellites)

Vulcan is ULA's next generation heavy-lift launcher using Blue Origin's BE-4 engine. Vulcan will loft the highly anticipated Peregrine lunar lander to touch down on our nearest celestial body.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

Arianespace/ESA | Ariane 6 | Maiden Flight

Ariane 6 is Europe's latest ride to space. Developed in partnership with the European Space Agency, Arianespace and ArianeGroup, Ariane 6 will continue the legacy of Ariane 1-5 and launch Europe's next

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

Arianespace | Ariane 5 | JUICE

JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) is a satellite built by the European Space Agency to study Jupiter and 3 of its moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. 

Over its 3 year mission, JUICE will perform a total of 35 flybys of Jupiter’s moons. 

The mission will characterise these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats, explore Jupiter’s complex environment in depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Polaris Dawn

Polaris Dawn is the first of a series of missions as part of the Polaris program founded by Jared Isaacman as a continuation of the incredible work to raise money for St. Judes Children's Hospital during the Inspiration4 mission in September 2021. 

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

ULA/Boeing | Atlas V N22 | Starliner Crew Flight Test

ULA will launch Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and its crew of 3 to orbit where the crew will perform demonstrations of the spacecraft to ensure it meets NASA’s requirements for safety, reliability, and other critical expectations for human spaceflight as part of the agency's Commercial Crew program.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

Relativity Space | Terran 1 | Good Luck, Have Fun (Maiden Flight)

Relativity Space will attempt an orbital flight test of their Terran 1 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida. The purpose of the flight is to allow Relativity to test Terran 1’s ability to perform an orbital flight and allow the company to work out any issues in the system before flying customer payloads.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

ISRO | GSLV Mk III | Gaganyaan-1

It’s no secret that the Indian space program is astonishing for the limited budget it receives, and the ISRO continues to push forward at great speed to advance India’s presence in space. 

In 2023, they are aiming to attempt the first uncrewed orbital launch attempt of India’s first crew capsule called Gaganyaan.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

SpaceX | Falcon Heavy | Psyche

SpaceX is set to launch the long-awaited Psyche spacecraft for NASA, originally expected to launch in 2022 however due to software readiness the launch was moved to October 2023.

The Psyche mission is a journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. What makes the asteroid Psyche unique is that it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

Northrup Grumman | Antares 230+ | Cygnus NG-19 (Final Antares 230)

With the end of supply of Antares' Russian built engines (RD-181), Northrup Grumman were required to bring the Antares 230+ rocket to an end.

The company is currently developing a new Antares in partnership with Firefly Aerospace (Antares 330), however it's not expected to take flight until 2024. Until then, Cygnus will fly on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

Arianespace | Ariane 5 | Syracuse 4B & Heinrich Hertz (Final Ariane 5)

The end of an era is approaching, but this is just the beginning... With the transition to Ariane 6, Arianespace are no longer selling flights aboard Ariane 5 and Syracuse 4B & Heinrich Hertz will be its final passengers.

Arianespace first launched Ariane 5 in June 1996 as the successor the company's Ariane 4 family. Ariane 5 has been Europe's primary ride to space alongside Vega, launching groundbreaking science missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Axiom 2

Photo taken by Alli Henry for TLP Network

Axiom 2 is the second in a series of private missions to the International Space Station on behalf of Axiom Space for scientific research and outreach.

Axiom 1 launched in early 2022 and went extremely well for all involved from the crew themselves, the crew on station and the talented folks on the ground in Houston and Hawthorne.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Cygnus NG-20 (First Cygnus on F9)

Photo taken by TJ Waller for TLP Network

Cygnus will utilise 3 Falcon 9 launches (NG-20, 21 and 22) while Northrup and Firefly work to bring Antares 330 online "by end of 2024".

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

ABL Space Systems | RS1 | Maiden Flight

ABL Space Systems will attempt an orbital flight test of their RS1 small-satellite launch vehicle from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)

Rocket Lab | Electron | TROPICS

Following the failure of TROPICS 1 & 2 aboard Astra's Rocket 3 launch vehicle, NASA voided Astra's contract and brought on Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle to do the task of launching the remaining 4 TROPICS satellites to their place in orbit.

Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) is a constellation of 4 cubesats which will be used to monitor tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, providing potentially life saving information about the formation of storms.

The 2 launches (each carrying 2 satellites) will occur within a 60-day period from the company's LC-2 in Wallop, Virginia.

Learn more in our Mission Briefing (click here)