# 2025 in spaceflight

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.

## Overview
### Exploration of the Solar System

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. The mission failed because of communication issues.
China plans to launch the Tianwen-2 (ZhengHe) asteroid sample-return and comet probe in May.

### Lunar exploration

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. Landing was completed successfully on 2 March 2025.
The Hakuto-R Mission 2 will carry the RESILIENCE lunar lander and the TENACIOUS micro rover. Landing is expected in Mare Frigoris around May–June 2025.
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.
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. 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.
Blue Origin plans to launch their MK1 Lunar Lander as a "pathfinder" mission in 2025.

### Human spaceflight

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.

#### Private human spaceflight and space tourism

The first human spaceflight to polar orbit is expected to occur in March when Fram2 is planned to launch on Crew Dragon Resilience.

### Rocket innovation

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.
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.

### Satellite technology

ISRO successfully completed the docking of two SpaDeX satellites (SDX-01 & SDX-02) in the early hours of 16 January 2025. 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.

## Orbital launches

Numbers of orbital launches :
| Month | Total | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
| January | 22 | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| February | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| April | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| May | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| June | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 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 | 60 | 57 | 3 | 0 |

## Deep-space rendezvous

| Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
| 8 January | BepiColombo | Sixth gravity assist at Mercury | Success |
| 13 February | Blue Ghost Mission 1 | Lunar orbit insertion | Success |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 | |
| 5 June | Hakuto-R Mission 2 | Lunar landing | Landing targeted for Mare Frigoris |
| 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)

| Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
| 16 January 13:01 | 6 hours | 19:01 | Expedition 72 ISS Quest | Nick Hague Sunita Williams | 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. |
| 20 January 08:55 | 8 hours, 17 minutes | 17:12 | Shenzhou 19 TSS Wentian | Cai Xuzhe Song Lingdong | Tasks included installation of space debris protection devices and inspections of the exterior of the TSS. |
| 30 January 12:43 | 5 hours, 26 minutes | 18:09 | Expedition 72 ISS Quest | Sunita Williams Barry Wilmore | 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. |

## Space debris events

| Date/Time (UTC) | Source object | Event type | Pieces tracked | Remarks |
| 9 February | 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
### By country

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 | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| | China | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | |
| | France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| | Russia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| | United States | 39 | 37 | 2 | 0 | Includes Electron launches from Māhia |
| World | World | 60 | 57 | 3 | 0 | |

### By rocket

* Ariane 6
* Atlas V
* Ceres-1
* Electron
* Falcon 9 new
* Falcon 9 reused
* Falcon Heavy
* Firefly Alpha
* H-IIA
* H3
* GSLV
* LVM3
* PSLV
* SSLV
* Jielong 3
* Kuaizhou 1A
* Kuaizhou 11
* Long March 2
* Long March 3
* Long March 4
* Long March 5
* Long March 6
* Long March 7
* Long March 8
* New Glenn
* Soyuz-2
* Soyuz 2.1v
* Starship
* Vega C
* Vulcan Centaur
* Others

#### By family

| Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| Angara | Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane | France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ceres | China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electron | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Falcon | United States | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| H-series | Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| ILV | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jielong | China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kuaizhou | China | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Long March | China | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Glenn | United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| R-7 | Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Starship | United States | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |

#### By type

| Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| Angara-1.2 | Russia | Angara | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane 6 | France | Ariane | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ceres-1 | China | Ceres | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electron | United States | Electron | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Falcon 9 | United States | Falcon | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| GSLV | India | ILV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H3 | Japan | H-series | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jielong 3 | China | Jielong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kuaizhou 1 | China | Kuaizhou | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Long March 2 | China | Long March | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3 | China | Long March | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 6 | China | Long March | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 8 | China | Long March | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Glenn | United States | New Glenn | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Soyuz-2 | Russia | R-7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Starship | United States | Starship | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |

#### By configuration

| Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
| Angara-1.2 | Russia | Angara-1.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ariane 62 | France | Ariane 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ceres-1 | China | Ceres-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electron | United States | Electron | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Falcon 9 Block 5 | United States | Falcon 9 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | |
| GSLV Mk II | India | GSLV | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| H3-22S | Japan | H3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jielong 3 | China | Jielong 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kuaizhou 1A | China | Kuaizhou 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Long March 2C | China | Long March 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 2D | China | Long March 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 3B/E | China | Long March 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 6A | China | Long March 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 8 | China | Long March 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Long March 8A | China | Long March 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| New Glenn | United States | New Glenn | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Maiden flight |
| Soyuz-2.1a | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat-M | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Soyuz 2.1v / Volga | Russia | Soyuz-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Final flight |
| Starship Block 2 | United States | Starship | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Maiden flight |

### By spaceport

* Bowen
* Jiuquan
* South China Sea
* Taiyuan
* Wenchang
* Xichang
* Yellow Sea
* Kourou
* Satish Dhawan
* Chabahar
* Semnan
* Shahroud
* Kii
* Tanegashima
* Baikonur
* Māhia
* Sohae
* Plesetsk
* Vostochny
* Cape Canaveral
* Kennedy
* MARS
* Starbase
* Vandenberg
| Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
| Baikonur | Kazakhstan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cape Canaveral | United States | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Jiuquan | China | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Kennedy | United States | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Kourou | France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Māhia | New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Plesetsk | Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Satish Dhawan | India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Starbase | United States | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Taiyuan | China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanegashima | Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vandenberg | United States | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Wenchang | China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Xichang | China | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Yellow Sea | China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 60 | 57 | 3 | 0 |

### By orbit

* 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 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Low Earth / Sun-synchronous | 45 | 44 | 1 | 0 | Including flights to ISS and Tiangong (CSS) |
| Geosynchronous / Tundra / GTO | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Medium Earth / Molniya | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| High Earth / Lunar transfer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Heliocentric orbit / Planetary transfer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 57 | 3 | 0 | |

## Expected maiden flights

| Rocket | Origin | Organization | Launch | Outcome |
| New Glenn | USA | Blue Origin | 16 January | Success |
| Starship Block 2 | USA | SpaceX | 16 January | Failure |
| Long March 8A | China | China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology | 11 February | Success |
| Eris Block 1 | Australia | Gilmour Space Technologies | March | TBD |
| HLVM3 | India | ISRO | March | TBD |
| Tianlong-3 | China | Space Pioneer | May | TBD |
| Ceres-2 | China | Galactic Energy | June | TBD |
| Pallas-1 | China | Galactic Energy | June | TBD |
| Zhuque-3 | China | LandSpace | June | TBD |
| Neutron | USA | Rocket Lab | July | TBD |
| HANBIT-Nano | South Korea | Innospace | July | TBD |
| Kinetica 2 | China | CAS Space | September | TBD |
| RFA One | Germany | Rocket Factory Augsburg | Q3 | TBD |
| Irtysh | Russia | TsSKB Progress | December | TBD |
| Hyperbola-3 | China | i-Space | December | TBD |
| Antares 330 | USA | Northrop Grumman | Q4 | TBD |
| Ariane 64 | France | ArianeGroup | Q4 | TBD |
| Cyclone-4M | Ukraine | Yuzhnoye | Planned | TBD |
| Daytona I | USA | Phantom Space Corporation | Planned | TBD |
| Hera-II | UK | Astraius | Planned | TBD |
| Nova | USA | Stoke Space | Planned | TBD |
| Prime | UK | Orbex | Planned | TBD |
| Starship Block 3 | USA | SpaceX | Planned | TBD |
| Spectrum | Germany | Isar Aerospace | Planned | TBD |
| Skyrora XL | UK | Skyrora | Planned | TBD |
| H3-30 | Japan | JAXA and MHI | Planned | TBD |
| Solid fuel SLV (All stages variant) | South Korea | Agency for Defense Development | Planned | TBD |
| Miura 5 | Spain | PLD Space | Planned | TBD |
| Zéphyr | France | Latitude | Planned | TBD |
| Nebula-1 | China | Deep Blue Aerospace | Planned | TBD |
| Yuanxingzhe-1 | China | Space Epoch | Planned | TBD |
| 4-meter-class Reusable Launcher | China | Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology | Planned | TBD |
| Agnibaan | India | AgniKul Cosmos | Planned | TBD |
| Vikram-1 | India | Skyroot Aerospace | Planned | TBD |