Starship ahead of launch during sunrise/Screenshot of SpaceX Livestream via X
On Saturday, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built lifted off from a launchpad from the southern tip of Texas. While SpaceX’s Starship is still being developed, the company isn’t afraid to build, test, and blow up prototypes, an approach that has already earned them success in the form of the Falcon 9, the most active and reliable operational rocket flying today. If that same approach works with Starship, we could soon have a fully reusable rocket more powerful than the rocket that brought us to the Moon, the Saturn V.
While I am incredibly excited about seeing the continued development of Starship in the coming year, it isn’t the only thing I’m watching for in space in the coming year.
Sticking with SpaceX, the company is set to launch another private crewed flight with their Falcon 9/Dragon as a part of the Polaris Program. The first flight of the program, Polaris Dawn, will feature the first spacewalk performed as part of a fully private space mission. Beyond the first mission, the Polaris Program is looking at an opportunity to make repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Meanwhile, other players are looking to debut new rockets in a challenge to SpaceX’s dominance. The Jeff Bezos-owned company Blue Origin is planning to debut its New Glenn, while ULA is looking to introduce its Vulcan rocket. Both are powered by Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines, which, similar to SpaceX’s Starship, are fueled by liquid methane. Europe is also looking to debut its new Ariane 6 rocket.
If all goes according to plan next year, next November will also see NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, which will bring humans to lunar orbit for the first time since 1972. While the crew won’t land on the moon, there are also numerous robotic landers scheduled throughout the year, paving the way for our return to the lunar surface.
The state of space exploration today is much different than it was just a decade ago. In 2013, fewer than 90 orbital space missions were conducted around the globe. So far, as of writing, there have been over 190 in 2023. With more than a month left in the year, it is likely that we will see over 200.
I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what comes next.