/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/awn-logo.svg
Skip to main content
  • Market Sector
    • Aerospace
    • Air Transport
    • MRO
    • Defense and Space
    • Business Aviation
  • Markets
    • Aerospace
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Connected Aerospace
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Manufacturing & Supply Chain
      • Unmanned & Urban Aviation
      • Commercial Space
      • Program Management
    • Air Transport
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports & Routes
      • Airlines & Lessors
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
    • MRO
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Supply Chain
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Workforce & Training
    • Defense and Space
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Sensors & Electronic Warfare
      • Missile Defense & Weapons
      • Supply Chain
      • Budget, Policy & Operations
      • Space
    • Business Aviation
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports, FBOs & Suppliers
      • Flight Deck
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
  • Products
    • Market Sector

      • Aerospace
      • Air Transport
      • MRO
      • Defense and Space
      • Business Aviation
    • Type View All Products
      • Intelligence Bundles
        • AWIN - Premium
        • AWIN - Aerospace and Defense
        • AWIN - Business Aviation
        • AWIN - Commercial Aviation
      • Market Briefings
        • Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
        • Aviation Daily
        • SpeedNews
        • The Weekly of Business Aviation
      • Directories
        • Air Charter Guide
        • Aviation Week Marketplace
        • Route Exchange
        • The Engine Yearbook
      • Data Services
        • AC-U-KWIK
        • Aircraft Bluebook
        • Airportdata.com
        • Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM)
        • CAPA – Centre for Aviation
        • Fleet Discovery Civil
        • Fleet Discovery Military
        • Fleet & MRO Forecast
        • MRO Prospector
      • Publications
        • Air Transport World
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO
        • Business & Commercial Aviation
        • CAPA - Airline Leader
        • Routes magazine
        • ShowNews
      • Resources
        • Downloadable Reports
  • Services
    • Services
      • Advertising
      • Marketing Services
      • Fleet, Data & APIs
      • Research & Consulting
      • Network and Route Planning
      • Marketplace
  • Events
    • Events View All Events
      • MRO
        • MRO Americas
        • MRO Asia
        • MRO Baltics, Eastern Europe and Russia (BEER)
        • MRO Europe
        • MRO Latin America
        • MRO Middle East
        • MRO Transatlantic
        • Military Aviation Logistics and Maintenance Symposium (MALMS)
      • Commercial Aviation
        • Aero-Engines Americas
        • Aero-Engines Asia
        • Aero-Engines Europe
        • Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference (ASC)
        • Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference - Europe (ACE)
        • Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance
      • Aerospace and Defense
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions Conference (ADMA)
        • Aerospace Manufacturing Conference (AMC)
        • Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference (RMC)
        • DefenseChain Conference (DCPE)
      • Air Transport
        • CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit
        • CAPA Latin America Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Live
        • Routes Americas 2021
        • Routes Asia 2021
        • Routes Europe 2021
        • Routes Reconnected
        • TakeOff North America 2020
        • World Aviation Outlook Summit 2020
        • World Routes 2021
      • Business Aviation
        • Business Aviation Week 2020
        • Business & General Aviation Conference (BGA)
      • Awards
        • 20 Twenties
        • Aviation Week Laureates Awards
        • Program Excellence Awards and Banquet
    • Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
  • About
    • About Aviation Week Network
      • Our Story
      • Content and Data Team
      • Aviation Week & Space Technology 100-Year
    • Contact Us
      • Subscriber Services
      • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
      • Content Sales
      • Events
      • PR & Communications
      • Content Licensing and Reprints
      • FAQ
  • Log In
  • Register
  • My Account
    • Profile
    • Sign Out
  • AWIN Access
  • My cart
  1. Back to Aerospace & Defense 2021

Share

Spaceflight Highlights Of 2020

Graham Warwick
Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 servicing spacecraft
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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.

Previous
Next

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.

Follow us on

Markets

  • Aerospace
  • Air Transport
  • MRO
  • Defense and Space
  • Business Aviation

Products

  • AWIN Intelligence Bundles
  • Market Briefings
  • Publications
  • Data Services
  • Directories
  • Resources

Contact Us

  • Subscriber Services
  • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
  • Content Sales
  • Events
  • PR & Communications
  • Content Licensing and Reprints
  • FAQ

Other Resources

  • Aviation Week Marketplace
  • Knowledge Center
  • Newsletters
  • ShowNews
Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC.
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use