2024 marked notable advancements in global space exploration and commercial endeavours. What does 2025 hold?
In 2024, there were about 250 orbital rocket launches globally.
SpaceX was a significant contributor, achieving 134 launches this year, including 129 Falcon 9 missions, two Falcon Heavy missions, and three Starship test flights.
Only about five launches were from Europe.
In July, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the new heavy-lift rocket, Ariane 6, carrying nine CubeSats (small satellites) provided by European companies and research institutions.
Its long overdue launch, having been delayed by four years, has helped Europe reclaim its autonomy in space.
While significantly cheaper than its predecessor, it has, however, been criticised for being expendable, unlike SpaceX’s reusable rockets.
In December, the agency sent off the Proba-3 mission which consists of two satellites to study the Sun’s Corona.
ESA said the Proba-3 mission will be the first to create an artificial eclipse in a bid to better understand solar weather.
Studying the solar corona may help scientists predict how solar weather, such as geomagnetic solar storms, can affect satellites in orbit as well as communication networks and power grids on Earth.
2024 was also the year two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, were left stranded in space after their Boeing Starliner test capsule experienced thruster failures and helium leaks.
The capsule returned to Earth in September, leaving its first astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA will bring them back when the SpaceX Crew-9 mission returns to Earth in 2025 after seats on the mission were reduced to make room for them.
Europe’s first orbital launch
In 2025, the first orbital launch from European soil may happen.
So far, most launches have been from the European Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) told Euronews Next it was planning the first orbital satellite launch with its South Korean partner Perigee Aerospace in late 2025.
SSC has recently received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration for project establishment to create a basic capability for satellite launches from SSC’s Esrange Space Centre in the Arctic Circle.
The race to be the first to launch is on between the Swedish spaceport and the Saxavord Spaceport in the British Isles.
In a statement, the chief executive of Orbex, Phil Chambers, said the rock manufacturer was also aiming for the first launch in 2025 from the Scottish facility.
Industry insiders say, there’s a need for more advanced propulsion systems with expanding satellite and rocket business.
“SpaceX has done a really great job at proving reliability and getting people into orbit. Once you’re in orbit and you’ve been placed in orbit by SpaceX, you’re on your own and you need a different type of propulsion system,” Richard Dinan, the CEO of Pulsar Fusion, told Euronews Next in March.
The British company was working on what it claimed to be the largest electric in-space propulsion system, which is specifically designed to operate in the vacuum of space once a satellite is released from the rocket.
Growth in space also means rising concerns about sustainability.
Companies like Amazon’s Kuiper Systems plan to ramp up launches for constellations comprising over 3,000 satellites in 2025, utilising various launch vehicles.
According to ESA data, there are some 12,500 satellites in Earth orbit. Of these, some 2,700 devices no longer work.
Brussels is working on the firstEuropean Space Law, expected in 2025, which will seek to solve the problem of space debris.
What else to expect in 2025
The year 2025 is set to witness several rocket launches and maiden flights.
ESA plans to conduct an orbital test flight of the Space Rider uncrewed spaceplane in the third quarter of 2025. This reusable space vehicle is designed to provide a platform for various missions, including technology demonstrations and scientific research.
Following its inaugural flight, the first commercial launch of Ariane 6 is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, with a target of mid-February. This mission will carry the French military reconnaissance satellite CSO-3.
SpaceX will continue developing its Starship rocket, which is designed for deep space missions, with its seventh flight test scheduled for January 2025.
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