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2025 in spaceflight

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2025 in spaceflight
(top) Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander touched down successfully in March 2025; (bottom) Blue Origin's New Glenn launch
Orbital launches
First4 January
Last20 June
Total139
Successes132
Failures7
Partial failures0
National firsts
Satellite
Space traveller
Rockets
Maiden flights
Retirements
Crewed flights
Orbital4
Orbital travellers14
Suborbital3
Suborbital travellers18
Total travellers32
EVAs4
2025 in spaceflight
← 2024
2026 →

Spaceflight in 2025 promises to follow the 2020s trend of record-breaking orbital launches (with at least 300 expected) and increased developments in lunar, Mars, and low-earth orbit exploration. Spaceflight in 2025 will include more private companies' launches, and reusable launch vehicles will be used. Private robotic landers, part of NASA's CLPS Program have touched down with more to land as part of the Artemis program.

Overview

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Astronomy and astrophysics

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Exploration of the Solar System

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AstroForge's Brokkr-2 was launched on 27 February 2025 to perform a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid and determine if the asteroid is metallic.[1] The mission failed because of communication issues.

China launched the Tianwen-2 (ZhengHe) asteroid sample-return and comet probe on 28 May 2025.[2] It will rendezvous with near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa in mid-2026, attempt to collect samples, and return samples back to Earth in late 2027. Then it will travel to main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS for a decade-long mission to further explore the mysterious comet-like object.[3]

Lunar exploration

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On 15 January, Blue Ghost Mission 1 by Firefly Aerospace and Hakuto-R Mission 2 by ispace launched together on a Falcon 9.

Firefly Aerospace's lunar lander carried NASA-sponsored experiments and commercial payloads as a part of Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to Mare Crisium.[4] Landing was completed successfully on 2 March 2025.[5]

Epic Aerospace's Chimera-1 Space tug was planned to transition from TLI to Geosynchronous but failed due to a possible communication failure.[citation needed]

On 5 June, Hakuto-R Mission 2, carrying the RESILIENCE lunar lander and the TENACIOUS micro rover, attempted a landing in Mare Frigoris but crashed into the lunar surface.[6][7][8]

Intuitive Machines's lunar lander IM-2, carrying NASA-sponsored experiments and commercial rovers (Yaoki, AstroAnt, Micro-Nova and MAPP LV1) and payloads as a part of Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to Mons Mouton, was launched on 27 February 2025 on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle with Brokkr-2 and Lunar Trailblazer. IM-2 landed on 6 March 2025. The spacecraft was intact after touchdown but resting on its side, thereby complicating its planned science and technology demonstration mission; this outcome is similar to what occurred with the company's IM-1 Odysseus spacecraft in 2024.[9]

Lunar Trailblazer aims to aid in the understanding of lunar water and the Moon's water cycle. The mission failed as contact was never established with spacecraft after launch.[10] On March 13, Intuitive Machines shared that, like on the IM-1 mission, the Athena's altimeter had failed during landing, leaving its onboard computer without an accurate altitude reading. As a result, the spacecraft struck a plateau, tipped over, and skidded across the lunar surface, rolling once or twice before settling inside the crater. The company's CEO compared it to a baseball player sliding into a base. During the slide, the spacecraft rolled once or twice, before coming to rest inside the crater. The impact also kicked up regolith that coated the solar panels in dust, further degrading their performance.[11]

Blue Origin plans to launch their MK1 Lunar Lander as a "pathfinder" mission in 2025.[12]

Human spaceflight

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On 30 January, Sunita Williams broke the world record for the most time spent on spacewalk by a woman when she accumulated 62 hours and 6 minutes on her ninth EVA. The record was previously held by Peggy Whitson with 60 hours and 21 minutes.[13]

Private human spaceflight and space tourism

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On 1 April at 01:46 (UTC), Fram2 launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, becoming the first crewed spaceflight to enter a polar retrograde orbit,[14] i.e., to fly over Earth's poles.[15]

Rocket innovation

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Blue Origin completed the maiden flight of its New Glenn rocket on 16 January 2025. The second stage successfully placed its payload into orbit, while the first stage failed to land on the recovery ship offshore.[16]

SpaceX expects to perform an in-space propellant transfer demonstration using two docked Starships in 2025—a critical milestone that will allow SpaceX to refuel their Starship HLS vehicle for an uncrewed lunar landing demonstration in the following year.[17]

Satellite technology

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ISRO successfully completed the docking of two SpaDeX satellites (SDX-01 & SDX-02) in the early hours of 16 January 2025.[18] Docking of two vehicles in space has previously only been achieved by the Soviet Union/Russia, United States, ESA, and China.

Kuiper Systems, Amazon's satellite internet subsidiary, plans to ramp up launches for its constellation of over 3,000 satellites. The launches will occur on Falcon 9, Ariane 6, Vulcan Centaur and New Glenn launch vehicles.[19]

Orbital launches

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Numbers of orbital launches
Month Total Successes Failures Partial failures
January 22 21 1 0
February 20 20 0 0
March 27 24 3 0
April 26 25 1 0
May 29 27 2 0
June 15 15 0 0
July TBD TBD TBD TBD
August TBD TBD TBD TBD
September TBD TBD TBD TBD
October TBD TBD TBD TBD
November TBD TBD TBD TBD
December TBD TBD TBD TBD
Total 139 132 7 0

Deep-space rendezvous

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Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
8 January BepiColombo Sixth gravity assist at Mercury Success
13 February Blue Ghost Mission 1 Lunar orbit insertion Success [20]
14 February Hakuto-R Mission 2 Lunar flyby This flyby placed the lander into a low-energy ballistic transfer orbit for capture into lunar orbit in mid-May.[21]
18 February Solar Orbiter Fourth gravity assist at Venus This flyby of Venus will increase the inclination of the spacecraft's orbit from about 7.7 to around 17 degrees.[22]
1 March Europa Clipper Gravity assist at Mars Success
2 March Blue Ghost Mission 1 Lunar landing Success
Landing site is in Mare Crisium near Mons Latreille, coordinates 18°34′N 61°49′E / 18.56°N 61.81°E / 18.56; 61.81
3 March IM-2 Athena Lunar orbit insertion
6 March IM-2 Athena Lunar landing Partial success; Lander tipped over after touchdown. Landing site is on Mons Mouton, coordinates 84°47′26″S 29°11′45″E / 84.7906°S 29.1957°E / -84.7906; 29.1957)
12 March Hera Gravity assist at Mars Success
Conducted observations and a flyby of the Martian moon Deimos
22 March Parker Solar Probe 23rd perihelion
20 April Lucy Flyby of asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson Target altitude 922 km
6 May Hakuto-R Mission 2 Lunar orbit insertion Success [23]
10 May Kosmos 482 Earth entry and impact The Molniya rocket failed to deliver the spacecraft to a Venus transfer orbit, stranding it in orbit for 53 years. The lander's successful entry was monitored by Roscosmos, with the vehicle impacting the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta.
5 June Hakuto-R Mission 2 Lunar landing Landing targeted for Mare Frigoris, landing failure
19 June Parker Solar Probe 24th perihelion
31 August JUICE Gravity assist at Venus
15 September Parker Solar Probe 25th perihelion
12 December Parker Solar Probe 26th perihelion
24 December Solar Orbiter Fifth gravity assist at Venus This flyby of Venus will increase the inclination of the spacecraft's orbit further to 24 degrees, and will mark the start of the ‘high-latitude’ mission.

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

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Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks
16 January
13:01
6 hours 19:01 Expedition 72
ISS Quest
Hague and Williams ventured outside and replaced the Rate Gyro Assembly Gyroscope 2 on the S0 Truss, replaced the retro reflectors on IDA 3, installed shields on NICER to patch holes in the light shades, relocated the C2V2 cables out of the way so the astronauts and Canadarm 2 could access the worksite, tested a tool on the AMS jumpers, and photographed the AMS jumpers so they can be de-mated on a future spacewalk. As part of a get-ahead task, they inspected an ammonia vent line on Unity and inspected a foot restraint located near the Z1 Radio Antenna. This spacewalk was originally supposed to be performed by Andreas Mogensen and Loral O'Hara during Expedition 70, but it was delayed indefinitely due to a radiator leak on Nauka.[24]
20 January
08:55
8 hours, 17 minutes 17:12 Shenzhou 19
TSS Wentian
Tasks included installation of space debris protection devices and inspections of the exterior of the TSS.[25]
30 January
12:43
5 hours, 26 minutes 18:09 Expedition 72
ISS Quest
Wilmore and Williams successfully removed a faulty radio communications unit, although the time needed for this meant that other tasks that were scheduled for the spacewalk weren't accomplished. Williams broke the record for the woman to have spent the most on EVA, with a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes.[13]
1 May
13:05
5 hours, 44 minutes 18:49 Expedition 73
ISS Quest
McClain and Ayers relocated a communications antenna, installed a mounting bracket for a future Roll Out Solar Array, installed a jumper cable to provide power from the P6 truss to the Russian Orbital Segment and removed bolts from a micrometeoroid cover.[26]

Space debris events

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Date/Time (UTC) Source object Event type Pieces tracked Remarks
9 February United States New Glenn upper stage+Blue Ring Breakup ~67 Energetic fragmentation event; Cause Unknown; but may be related to upper stage passivization or insulation.

Orbital launch statistics

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By country

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For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Electron rockets launched from the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand are counted under the United States because Electron is an American rocket. For a launch attempt to be considered orbital it must be trying to achieve a positive perigee. Launches from the Moon are not included in the statistics.

Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
 China 36 35 1 0
 France 1 1 0 0
 Germany 1 0 1 0
 India 2 1 1 0
 Italy 1 1 0 0
 Japan 1 1 0 0
 Russia 7 7 0 0
 United States 90[a] 86 4 0
World 139 132 7 0

By rocket

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By family

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By type

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By configuration

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By spaceport

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10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Australia
China
France
India
Iran
Japan
Kazakhstan
New Zealand
North Korea
Norway
Russia
United States
Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Andøya  Norway 1 0 1 0 First orbital launch
Baikonur  Kazakhstan 2 2 0 0
Cape Canaveral  United States 37 37 0 0
Jiuquan  China 14 13 1 0
Kennedy  United States 14 14 0 0
Kourou  France 2 2 0 0
Māhia  New Zealand 8 8 0 0
Plesetsk  Russia 5 5 0 0
Satish Dhawan  India 2 1 1 0
Starbase  United States 3 0 3 0
Taiyuan  China 5 5 0 0
Tanegashima  Japan 1 1 0 0
Vandenberg  United States 28 27 1 0
Wenchang  China 5 5 0 0
Xichang  China 10 10 0 0
Yellow Sea  China 2 2 0 0
Total 139 132 7 0

By orbit

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  •   Transatmospheric
  •   Low Earth
  •   Low Earth (ISS)
  •   Low Earth (CSS)
  •   Low Earth (SSO)
  •   Low Earth (polar)
  •   Medium Earth
  •   Molniya
  •   Geosynchronous
  •   High Earth
  •   Lunar transfer
  •   Heliocentric
Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not achieved Accidentally
achieved
Remarks
Transatmospheric 3 0 3 0
Low Earth / Sun-synchronous 112 108 4 0 Including flights to ISS and Tiangong (CSS)
Geosynchronous / Tundra / GTO 18 18 0 0
Medium Earth / Molniya 3 3 0 0
High Earth / Lunar transfer 2 2 0 0
Heliocentric orbit / Planetary transfer 1 1 0 0
Total 139 132 7 0

Suborbital launch statistics

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By country

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For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of suborbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. Flights intended to fly below 80 km (50 mi) are omitted.

Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
 Canada 2 2 0 0
 North Korea 2 2 0 0
 United States 14 14 0 0
 Yemen 5 5 0 0
World 19 19 0 0

Maiden flights

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Rocket Origin Organization Launch Outcome Ref.
New Glenn  USA Blue Origin 16 January Success [27]
Starship Block 2  USA SpaceX 16 January Failure [28]
Long March 8A  China China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology 11 February Success [29][30]
Spectrum  Germany Isar Aerospace 30 March Failure [31]
Tianlong-3  China Space Pioneer July TBD [32]
Pallas-1  China Galactic Energy August TBD [33]
Ceres-2  China Galactic Energy Late August TBD [34]
Kinetica 2  China CAS Space September TBD [35]
RFA One  Germany Rocket Factory Augsburg Q3 TBD [36]
Zhuque-3  China LandSpace Q3 TBD [37]
Irtysh  Russia TsSKB Progress December TBD [38]
Hyperbola-3  China i-Space December TBD [39][40]
Antares 330  USA Northrop Grumman Q4 TBD [41]
Ariane 64  France ArianeGroup Q4 TBD [42]
HLVM3  India ISRO Q4 TBD [43]
Neutron  USA Rocket Lab H2 TBD [44]
Eris Block 1  Australia Gilmour Space Technologies Planned TBD [45][46]
HANBIT-Nano  South Korea Innospace Planned TBD [47]
Hera-II  UK Astraius Planned TBD
Nova  USA Stoke Space Planned TBD [48]
Starship Block 3  USA SpaceX Planned TBD [49]
H3-30S  Japan JAXA and MHI Planned TBD [50]
Solid fuel SLV (All stages variant)  South Korea Agency for Defense Development Planned TBD [51]
Nebula-1  China Deep Blue Aerospace Planned TBD [52]
Yuanxingzhe-1  China Space Epoch Planned TBD [53]
4-meter-class Reusable Launcher  China Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology Planned TBD [54][55]
Agnibaan  India AgniKul Cosmos Planned TBD [56]
Vikram-1  India Skyroot Aerospace Planned TBD [57]

Notes

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SpaceX's Fram2 mission launched on March 31st, 2025 at 9:46 PM EDT.

References

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  2. ^ Cunningham, Doug. "China launches Tianwen-2 asteroid and comet study mission - UPI.com". UPI.
  3. ^ Clark, Stephen (28 May 2025). "China extends its reach into the Solar System with launch of asteroid mission". Ars Technica. New York: Conde Nast. Archived from the original on 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  4. ^ "NASA Selects Firefly Aerospace for Artemis Commercial Moon Delivery in 2023". NASA (Press release). 4 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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  32. ^ "天龙系列运载火箭 重型无人机 全地形无人机反制车 雷达系统…… 这两天正在上海汽车会展中心举行的 上海国防科技工业装备与信息技术博览会上 近300多家国内外参展企业集中展示的创新成果 让公众有机会近距离感受国防科技的魅力" (in Chinese). 11 April 2025.
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[edit]
Generic references:
Spaceflight portal