The launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon in May 2020 ushers in the next phase of the space race: private companies ferrying NASA astronauts. Spectrum News has everything you need to know about this next stage in America's space story, including what comes next.
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Space and NASA News
- Date: Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021
- Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
- Mission: Boeing’s Starliner-100 Orbital Flight Test-2, the second test mission for the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft. The test will aim to dock it with the ISS and return it to the desert of the western U.S. A success in this test will pave the way for the first crewed test of Starliner in late 2021.
- Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: 1:20 p.m. ET
From Port Canaveral to the Indian River Lagoon to the beaches, there are many easy-to-access sites along the Space Coast to watch Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral rocket launches. Florida's Space Coast has a great list of more than a dozen rocket launch viewing sites, with descriptions and maps. Check it out here!
2021 AND BEYOND: Florida and nationwide
FLORIDA LAUNCHES
- Date: No earlier than July 2021
- Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
- Mission: Space Test Program-3's Sat-6, a Laser Communications Relay Demonstration for the Defense Department
- Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: TBA
- Date: No earlier than October 16, 2021
- Vehicle: ULA Altas V
- Mission: Lucy mission
- Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: TBA
- Date: NET October 23, 2021
- Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
- Mission: Crew-3 mission
- Launch Site: Launch Pad 39A, Kennedy Space Center
- Launch Window: TBA
- Date: December 2021
- Vehicle: ULA Altas V
- Mission: NASA GOES-T Weather Satellite
- Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: TBA
- Date: Late 2021
- Vehicle: ULA Altas V
- Mission: Boeing Starliner crew capsule flight test to ISS (with 2 crew members aboard)
- Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: TBA
- Date: TBD
- Vehicle: ULA Altas V
- Mission: Boeing Starliner crew Starliner-1
- Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: TBA
NATIONWIDE
- Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2021
- Vehicle: Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket
- Mission: New Shepard-16's first crewed mission to space, carrying several passengers, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, brother Mark Bezos and a paying passenger.
- Launch Site: Launch Site One, Van Horn, West Texas
- Launch Window: TBA
- Date: No earlier than August 1, 2021
- Vehicle: SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy
- Mission: First orbital test flight of the Starship Super Heavy (a Super Heavy rocket with a Starship on top)
- Launch Site: Boca Chica, Texas
- Launch Window: TBA
(Sources: SpaceX, NASA, United Launch Alliance, Space Launch Delta 45, Boeing, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Lockheed Martin, FireFly Aerospace, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin)
ATLANTIS: Kennedy Space Center
- Space shuttle Atlantis launched on its last mission at 11:29 a.m. July 8, 2011.
- The shuttle program ended with the landing of Atlantis on Thursday, July 21 at 5:57 a.m.
- Atlantis was NASA's fourth space shuttle orbiter to join the fleet.
ENDEAVOUR: California Science Center, Los Angeles
- Space shuttle Endeavour launched on its final mission Monday, May 16, 2011.
- After a journey of 6.5 million miles, the orbiter landed for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 1, 2011.
DISCOVERY: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
- Discovery was NASA's reliable workhorse, spending more than a quarter century carrying crews, satellites and space station parts.
- In 1990, Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
- Final flight: Feb. 24, 2011.
ENTERPRISE: Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York City
- Enterprise was a prototype shuttle, rolling out of a California assembly facility on Sept. 17, 1976. After its success, Columbia became the 1st shuttle in space.
- It was originally to be named Constitution, but a write-in campaign by fans of the TV show Star Trek got it renamed.
SOURCES: Information and images on this page are from NASA, United Launch Alliance and SpaceX.