- April 23
- The X-37B unmanned military prototype spaceplane is launched atop an Atlas V rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 9m long reusable spaceplane is about one-quarter the size of the space shuttle. [57]
- May 12
- A group of U.S. astronomers announces the discovery of the farthest cluster of galaxies ever found, called CLG J02182-05102, 15 billion light years away from Earth. The cluster contains about 60 galaxies and several of the large galaxies hold 10 times as many stars as the Milky Way. [105]
- May 14
- The NASA space shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to deliver a Russian module and spare parts to the International Space Station. [35]
- May 21
- Japan launches the Akatsuki orbiter probe on an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima spaceport to Venus to study its atmosphere in detail. [57]
- May 26
- NASA's Atlantis space shuttle lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after completing its 32nd and likely final mission, delivering a Russian module and spare equipment to the International Space Station. [57]
- June 3
- Six astronauts are sealed in a container in Moscow, Russia, to begin a 520-day simulated round-trip to Mars and back, in an experiment to test how isolation affects people. [35]
- June 4
- California firm SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 rocket on its maiden test flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket successfully achieves Earth orbit. [57]
- June 10
- The South Korean Naro-1 space rocket carrying a scientific satellite explodes 137 seconds into its flight, likely during the first-stage ignition. [35]
- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully deploys their solar sail, Ikaros, in orbit, as a demonstration of the principle of using sunlight as a simple and efficient means of propulsion. [57]
- September 24
- Two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut abort a return to Earth when their space capsule fails to separate from the International Space Station. Crew members later rig jumpers to bypass a failed component and succeed in opening the door. [35]
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- October 22
- The International Space Station surpasses the record for the longest continuous human occupation of space, having been continuously inhabited since November 2, 2000 (3641 days). [615]
2011
- July 21
- Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135, concluding NASA's space shuttle program. [808]
- August 5
- NASA announces that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons. [808]
- Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. [808]
- August 17
- Russian space agency launches Turkey's first self-designed and built satellite, the RASAT. [730.105]
- September 24
- A six-ton NASA science satellite, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, in Earth's orbit for 20 years, crashes to Earth, breaking up into a debris field with unknown landing sites. The satellite was placed in orbit in 1991, completed its mission in 2005, and had been slowly losing altitude ever since. [35]
- September 29
- China successfully launches an experimental craft, Tiangong 1 meaning "Heavenly Palace", from a remote site in the Gobi Desert. The unmanned space lab is part of a program to build a permanent manned space station. [35]
- November 26
- The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, the most elaborate Martian exploration vehicle to date, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It is slated to land on Mars on August 5, 2012. [808]
2012
- April 13
- Kwangmyongsong-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. The United States and other countries had called the impending launch a violation of United Nations Security Council demands. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the republic. [1014]
- June 24
- Shenzhou 9, a Chinese spacecraft carrying three Chinese astronauts, docks manually with orbiting module Tiangong 1, first time for the country, making them as the third country to successfully perform the mission. [1014]
- August 6
- Curiosity, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission's rover, successfully lands on Mars. [1014]
2013
- November 5
- Mangalyaan (AKA Mars Orbiter Mission) is launched by India from its launchpad in Sriharikota. [1208]
- December 14
- Chinese spacecraft Chang'e 3, carrying the Yutu rover, becomes the first spacecraft to "soft"-land on the Moon since 1976 and the third ever robotic rover to do so. [1208]
2014
- November 12
- The Rosetta spacecraft's Philae probe successfully lands on Comet 67P, the first time in history that a spacecraft has landed on such an object. [1209]
2015
- March 6
- NASA's Dawn probe enters orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet. [1233]
- March 20
- Total eclipse of the Sun by the Moon is visible from Svalbard, Norway. [1588.15]
- July 14
- NASA's New Horizons spacecraft performs a close flyby of Pluto, becoming the first spacecraft in history to visit the distant world. [1233]
- September 27
- Total lunar eclipse is visible from Teulon, Manitoba, Canada. [1587.8]
- September 28
- NASA announces that liquid water has been found on Mars. [1233]
- December 22
- SpaceX lands a Falcon 9 rocket, the first reusable rocket to successfully enter orbital space and return. [1233]
2016
- February 7
- North Korea launches a long-range rocket into space, violating multiple UN treaties and prompting condemnation from around the world. [1234] [1275.33]
- March 14
- The ESA and Roscosmos launch the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on a mission to Mars. [1234]
- July 4
- NASA's Juno spacecraft enters orbit around Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet. [1234]
- September 8
- NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe will visit Bennu and is expected to return with samples in 2023. [1234]
2017
- March 30
- SpaceX conducts the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket. [1269]
- August 17
- The first observation of a collision of two neutron stars (GW170817) is hailed as a breakthrough in multi-messenger astronomy when both gravitational and electromagnetic waves from the event are detected. Data from the event provide confirmatory evidence for the r-process theory of the origin of heavy elements like gold. [1269]
- August 21
- A total solar eclipse is visible within a band across the entire contiguous United States of America, passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts. Prime viewing location is near Carbondale, Illinois. [1269] [1588.14]
- September 15
- Cassini-Huygens ends its 13-year mission by plunging into Saturn, becoming the first spacecraft to enter the planet's atmosphere. [1269]
- November 20
- Nature publishes an article recognising the high-velocity asteroid ?Oumuamua as originating from outside the Solar System, i.e. the first known interstellar object. [1269]
2018
- January 31
- A total lunar eclipse takes place, best visible from the Manitoba/Ontario border in Canada. The Moon appears as supermoon, with perigee being on January 30. It is also the first blue moon eclipse since 1983. [1309] [1587.8]
- February 6
- SpaceX successfully conducts its maiden flight of its most powerful rocket to date, the Falcon Heavy, from LC39A at John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [1309]
- April 18
- NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is launched. [1309]
- May 5
- NASA's unmanned spaceprobe InSight is launched. It is expected to land on Mars in November and use a drill to conduct geological science. [1309]
- July 25
- Scientists report the presence of a subglacial lake on Mars, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) below the southern polar ice cap and extending sideways about 20 km (12 mi), the first known body of water on the planet. [1309]
- July 27
- The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century occurs, and Mars makes its closest approach to Earth since 2003. [1309] [1587.8]
- August 12
- NASA launches the unmanned Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun at close range and the solar wind. [1309]
- October 19
- The unmanned European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo is launched on a seven-year journey to Mercury. [1309]
- October 30
- NASA's Kepler mission ends after the spacecraft runs out of fuel. [1309]
- November 1
- NASA's Dawn mission concludes after it runs out of hydrazine fuel. [1309]
- November 26
- NASA's InSight probe successfully lands on the surface of Mars. [1309]
- December 3
- NASA reports the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx probe at Bennu, the agency's first sample-return mission to an asteroid. [1309]
2019
- January 1
- Unmanned space probe New Horizons makes a close approach of the Kuiper belt object (KBO) 486958 Arrokoth at 05:33 UTC. [1368]
- January 3
- Chinese probe Chang'e 4 becomes the first human-made object to land on the far side of the Moon. [1368]
- February 21
- SpaceIL launches the Beresheet probe, the world's first privately financed mission to the Moon. [1368]
- March 3
- An unmanned demonstration flight of the new crew-capable version of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, intended to carry American astronauts into space, achieves successful autonomous docking with the International Space Station. [1368]
- April 10
- Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, located in the centre of the M87 galaxy. [1368]
- April 18
- NepaliSat-1 is launched. It is Nepal's first ever research satellite to be sent into space. [1368]
- May 24
- Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX launches 60 communications satellites into low Earth orbit. [1398.58]
- September 6
- Chandrayaan-2, India's second lunar probe, in lunar orbit, deploys lander Vikram which crashes into the surface of the moon. [1368]
- September 11
- Astronomers announce the detection of water in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, the first such discovery for an exoplanet in the habitable zone around a star. [1368]
- November 11
- A transit of Mercury occurs. [1368]
- December 18
- The CHEOPS space telescope, whose mission is to study the formation of extrasolar planets and determine their precise radius, likely density and internal structure, is launched. [1368]
- December 20
- The United States founds the United States Space Force, a branch of the United States Air Force, dedicated to space warfare. [1368] [1459.28]
2020
- January 9
- A rare, circumbinary planet called TOI 1338-b is discovered. [1384]
- February 10
- A rocket blasts off from Florida carrying Solar Orbiter, a European space probe designed to fly to a distance of 42 million kilomteres from the Sun, to perform observations of solar phenomenon. [1593.70]
- February 13
- NASA publishes a detailed study of Arrokoth, the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft. [1384]
- March 27
- The NASA orbiting telescope Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer discovers comet NEOWISE over the northern hemisphere. [1491.64]
- April 10
- The ESA/JAXA space probe BepiColombo makes its final gravity assist around Earth and begins to depart for Venus, where it is scheduled to make several gravity assist maneuvers before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025. [1384]
- April 22
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deploys the country's first military satellite, using a new satellite carrier called "Ghased" ("Messenger"). [1384]
- April 28
- A fast radio burst is detected from the Magnetar SGR 1935+2154, the first ever detected inside the Milky Way, and the first to be linked to a known source. [1384]
- April 29
- A near-Earth asteroid that is 2 kilometres wide makes a close approach of 6.3 million km to Earth. [1384]
- April 30
- NASA officially selects SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics to build its next-generation lunar lander to carry American astronauts to the Moon by 2024. [1384]
- May 6
- Astronomers announce the discovery of the first black hole located in a star system visible to the naked eye. [1384]
- May 30
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, carrying the Crew Dragon space capsule with two American astronauts, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, destined for the International Space Station. This is the first manned spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, and the world's first space launch of humans by any private company. [1384] [1479.10,66]
- June 3
- SpaceX successfully launches and deploys 60 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, bringing the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to 482. [1384]
- June 21
- An annular solar eclipse occurs. [1384]
- July 20
- From the spaceport on Tanegashima, Kyushu, Japan, the United Arab Emirates' Al Amal Mars orbiter is launched. [1474.10,62]
- July 23
- From the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on Hainan Island, People's Republic of China, the Tianwen-1 Mars mission is launched, consisting of orbiter, lander, and rover. [1474.10,62]
- July 30
- From the spaceport at Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA successfully launches its Perseverance Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life on the planet, and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission includes technology demonstrations to prepare for future human missions. [1384] [1474.62]
- September 14
- The Royal Astronomical Society announces the detection of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere, which is known to be a strong predictor for the presence of microbial life. [1384]
- October 20
- NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid, with its cargo due for return to Earth in 2023. [1384]
- November 15
- NASA and SpaceX launch the SpaceX Crew-1 mission from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A to the ISS, the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule. [1384]
- November 16
- SpaceX Dragon caspsule delivers four astronauts to the International Space Station. [1469.6]
- December 1
- The Arecibo Telescope of the Arecibo Observatory collapses, just weeks after the announcement of its planned demolition. [1384]
- December 13
- After taking off from Mojave Air and Space Port, New Mexico, USA, VMS Eve carrier aircraft launches VSS Unity rocket plane, which then flies into space and back. [1575.24]
- December 21
- A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623. [1384]
2021
- February 9
- The United Arab Emirates' uncrewed Hope spacecraft becomes the first Arabian mission successfully to enter orbit around Mars. [1420] [1599.41]
- February 18
- NASA's Mars 2020 mission (containing the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone) lands on Mars at Jezero Crater, after seven months of travel. [1420]
- April 9
- Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-18 mission, carrying three Expedition 65 crewmembers to the International Space Station. [1420]
- April 17
- The Soyuz MS-17 mission concludes, returning three crewmembers of Expedition 64 to Earth from the International Space Station. [1420]
- April 19
- NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, part of the Mars 2020 mission, performs the first powered flight on another planet in history. [1420]
- April 23
- SpaceX launches the Crew-2 mission, carrying four crew members of Expedition 65 and 66 to the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour. [1420]
- April 29
- The China National Space Administration launches the first module of its Tiangong space station, named Tianhe, beginning a two-year effort to build the station in orbit. [1420]
- May 2
- The SpaceX Crew-1 mission ends, returning four crew members of Expedition 64 and 65 to Earth from the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Resilience. [1420]
- May 5
- SpaceX successfully flies, lands, and recovers a Starship prototype for the first time, after four unsuccessful previous attempts. [1420]
- May 14
- The China National Space Administration lands its Zhurong rover at Utopia Planitia on Mars, making China the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the planet and only the second to land a rover. [1420]
- June 7
- The Juno spacecraft performs its only flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the first flyby of the moon by any spacecraft in over 20 years. [1420]
- June 10
- An annular solar eclipse is visible from Canada, Greenland, the North Pole, and the Russian Far East. [1420]
- June 17
- The China National Space Administration sends its first three astronauts to occupy the Tiangong Space Station, the country's first space station. [1420]
- July 11
- After taking off from Spaceport America, in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, USA, VMS Eve carrier aircraft launches VSS Unity rocket plane, with two pilots and four passengers, which then flies into space and back. [1575.24]
- July 19
- Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with a reusable New Shepard rocket delivering four crew members into space: its founder Jeff Bezos, Bezos' brother Mark, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen (who becomes the youngest person to go into space), and 82-year-old aviator and Mercury 13 member Wally Funk (who becomes the oldest person to go into space). [1420]
- July 28
- The first direct observation of light from behind a black hole is reported, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity. [1420]
- September 16
- Inspiration4, launched by SpaceX, becomes the first all-civilian spaceflight, carrying a four-person crew on a three-day orbit of the Earth. [1420]
- October 5
- Roscosmos launches the Soyuz MS-19 mission, which carries an Expedition 66 crewmember and two Channel One Russia personnel to the International Space Station. The two Channel One crew will perform principal photography on the film Vyzov aboard the station. [1420]
- October 13
- Blue Origin New Shepard capsule blasts off with William Shatner aboard. Oldest person into space, age 90. [1586.24]
- October 16
- The Lucy spacecraft is launched by NASA, the first mission to explore the Trojan asteroids. [1420]
- November 11
- SpaceX launches the Crew-3 mission, carrying four Expedition 66 crew members to the International Space Station. [1420]
- November 16
- Russia draws international condemnation following an anti-satellite weapon test that creates a cloud of space debris, threatening the International Space Station. [1420]
- November 24
- NASA launches the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first attempt to deflect an asteroid for the purpose of learning how to protect Earth. [1420]
- December 25
- NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute launch the James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket. [1420] [1421.10] [1734.66]
2022
- March 15
- US astronaut Mark Vande Hei breaks the US single spaceflight record of 340 days in space. [1525.4]
- April 8
- SpaceX flight to the International Space Station carries three paying passengers who paid US$55 million each for a stay of more than a week. [1539.6]
- November 16
- NASA launches the unmanned Space Launch System, destined for the Moon. [1689.73]
- November 18
- In Mumbai, India, Skyroot Aerospace launches a rocket 90km toward space, as a test. First such test for a private company in India. [1714.53]
2023
- February 1
- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) passes by Earth; last passing was 50,000 years ago. [1748.13]
- May 8
- An uncrewed PRoChinese spacecraft touches down at a spaceport in the Gobi desert. The secret mission was launched nine months earlier. [1802.36]
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