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We are at the beginning of a new space age. If you doubt it, just look back at the past year: From SpaceX’s historic Super Heavy booster capture to record-breaking lunar landing attempts, this year was full of historic and ambitious missions and demonstrations.
We take a look at the five most significant moments or trends in the space industry this year. Naysayers may think SpaceX is overrepresented on this list, but it shows just how far ahead the space behemoth is compared to its competitors.
In no particular order:
1. Boeing’s difficult Starliner mission turns into a SpaceX triumph
When the Starliner took off for its first crewed test mission in June, NASA and Boeing certainly had high hopes. But a number of technical failures The problem occurred during the vehicle’s final approach to the International Space Station, prompting a months-long investigation into the problems, with the main concern being whether the two astronauts on board could safely use the Starliner to return home.
Out of an abundance of caution, NASA officials have identified the two astronauts will stay on the ISS for more months than planned and will return in the spring using the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The decision was a big blow to Boeing a cost increase of approximately $1.6 billion is developing the Starliner and may need to conduct another crewed test flight before the vehicle is certified to fly regularly for NASA. (For what it’s worth, the capsule is done flawless touch.)
2. SpaceX captures the Super Heavy for the first time
SpaceX has made incredible progress in its Starship test program, with the company launching the giant rocket four times in 2024, bringing the total number of launches to six. During the fifth flight in October, the Super Heavy booster returned to the launch site, and was “captured” by two large arms emerging from the launch tower.
The space company has achieved booster reuse with its powerful Falcon 9 rocket, and the company has successfully recovered 367 boosters to date. These boosters touch land or giant ships at sea using four autonomously deployed legs just before touching down. But using a similar technique to recover the Super Heavy is impractical for a number of reasons – mainly its large size – which forced SpaceX engineers to develop a booster capture method.
During its most recent launch test in November, SpaceX decided to scrap a second capture attempt, so there is still work to do to hit the company’s targeted launch and recovery cadence. But the capture marked a historic day in spaceflight—not to mention one of the most incredible engineering feats of this century.
3. The Polaris Dawn team made the first personal spacewalk
Jared Isaacman has been in the news recently for being nominated by new President Donald Trump for the role of NASA Administrator. But the billionaire founder of payment processing company Shift4 Payments also made headlines this year when he led the Polaris Dawn mission and made the first spacewalk.
Spacewalks are incredibly dangerous: when leaving their vehicles, astronauts are exposed to risks like micrometeoroids and radiation, and they don’t have to rely on the integrity of their spacesuits to provide essentials like oxygen and cooling. However, the Polaris Dawn team along with mission partners SpaceX took on these very problems with the mission. Two of the four crew members, Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, took turns atop their specially equipped Dragon vehicle for about ten minutes each. The pair performed a series of tests on SpaceX-designed spacesuits while attached to the vehicle via an umbilical cord.
4. Many firms target the Moon
This year, two private companies and two countries have attempted to touch the moon. While the total number of attempts is not a record, the breadth of players certainly is: Japan, China and two American companies have had their chances to succeed.
The results were mixed. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic had to abort the landing attempt about ten days left in the mission. Intuitive Machines and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency have both reached the surface in the meantime. but failed to land in an upright position. China’s Chiange 6 mission, which both landed on the far side of the moon and returned samples, appears to be the only modest success.
5. It pays the Space Force
We would be remiss not to mention one of the space industry’s single largest customers, whose priorities and costs shape the overall ecosystem: the Department of Defense. This year, the Space Force awarded a number of large contracts to commercial providers, indicating a willingness to pay big dollars to commercial entities that can deliver.
Some notable contracts include $733 million, Eight launch contract with SpaceX; $515 million contract Rocket Lab for 18 satellites; several contracts for defense startup Anduril for observation and other works; and a number of smaller but no less noteworthy contracts for “quick response” capabilities A real anomaly, Impulse Space and Rocket Lab.
