2018 in spaceflight

2018 in spaceflight

The James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket in 2018

2018 is expected to bring a number of milestones in spaceflight. NASA's Space Launch System is expected to launch on its first mission, EM-1, carrying an uncrewed Orion spacecraft and a number of piggybacking CubeSats on a test flight around the moon. The long-delayed James Webb Space Telescope, the largest space telescope ever built, will also be launching to the Earth-Sun L₂ point.

In planetary exploration, the Juno mission is expected to complete its exploration of Jupiter's interior with a destructive re-entry into the gas giant. Two robotic Mars missions, the NASA InSight seismology lander and the first SpaceX Red Dragon are expected to launch and land on Mars within 2018. Additionally, the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo double Mercury orbiter mission is planned. Two asteroid sampling missions Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REx will reach their respective targets Ryugu and Bennu during summer.

Orbital launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
Early 2018 (TBD)	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Vandenberg SLC-4E		SpaceX
	Iridium NEXT 61-70	Iridium	Planned: Low Earth	Communications
2 February 2018	H-IIB		Tanegashima LA-Y2		MHI
	HTV-7	JAXA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
22 February 2018	Soyuz-2.1a		Baikonur		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-08	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
February 2018 (TBD)	Atlas V 422		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	Boe-CFT	Boeing / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Flight test
	Boeing Crewed Flight Test of CST-100 Starliner as part of Commercial Crew Development program. 14-day manned mission.
February 2018	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-14	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
March 2018	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-08	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 55/56
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
March 2018	Atlas V 541		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	GOES-S	NESDIS	Planned: Geosynchronous	Meteorology
16 April 2018	Soyuz-2.1a		Baikonur		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-09	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
April 2018	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	BepiColombo	ESA / JAXA	Planned: Mercurian orbit	Mercury probes
	Joint ESA / JAXA Mercury mission consisting of two orbiters
April 2018	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-15	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
5 May 2018	Atlas V 401		Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
	InSight	NASA / JPL	Planned: Heliocentric	Mars lander
May 2018	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-09	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 56/57
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
May 2018[1]	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	GPS IIIA-2	US Air Force	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
June 2018	Antares 230		MARS LP-0A		Orbital ATK
	Cygnus CRS OA-10E	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
June 2018	Atlas V 541		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	AEHF-5	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications (military)
1 July 2018	Soyuz-2.1a		Baikonur		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-10	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
31 July 2018[2]	Delta IV Heavy		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	Solar Probe Plus	NASA	Planned: Heliocentric	Heliophysics
August 2018	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-16	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
September 2018	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-10	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 57/58
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
Q3, 2018 (TBD)	Ariane 5 ES		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Galileo FOC 19	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 20	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 21	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
	Galileo FOC 22	ESA	Planned: Medium Earth	Navigation
16 October 2018	Soyuz-2.1a				Roscosmos
	Progress MS-11	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
October 2018	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	James Webb Space Telescope	NASA, ESA, CSA	Planned: Sun–Earth L2	Astronomy
October 2018	Atlas V 411		Vandenberg SLC-3E		United Launch Alliance
	Solar Orbiter	ESA	Planned: Heliocentric	Heliophysics
October 2018	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-17	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
November 2018	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-11	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 58/59
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
December 2018	Antares 230		MARS LP-0A		Orbital ATK
	Cygnus CRS OA-11E	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
December 2018	Falcon 9 Full Thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-18	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
2018 (TBD)[3]	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	Superbird-B3 / DSN-1[lower-alpha 1]	JSAT / DSN / JSDF	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
2018 (TBD)	Atlas V		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	AFSPC-8	US Air Force	?	Communications (military)
February 2019	Atlas V 541		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	AEHF-6	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications (military)
2019 (TBD)	Atlas V 421		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	NROL-101	NRO	?
July 2020	Atlas V 541		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	Mars 2020	NASA / JPL	Planned: Heliocentric	Mars rover

Suborbital flights

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks

Deep space rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
February 2018	Juno	Atmospheric entry into Jupiter
July 2018	Hayabusa 2	Arrival at asteroid Ryugu
August 2018	OSIRIS-REx	Arrival at asteroid Bennu

Orbital launch summary

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, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.

Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By spaceport

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not Achieved	Accidentally Achieved	Remarks
Transatmospheric	0	0	0	0
Low Earth	0	0	0	0
Geosynchronous/transfer	0	0	0	0
Medium Earth	0	0	0	0
High Earth	0	0	0	0
Heliocentric orbit	0	0	0	0	Including planetary transfer orbits

References

Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches". Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report". Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive". Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica". Webb, Brian. "Southwest Space Archive". "NASASpaceFlight.com". "Spaceflight Now". "Space Information Center". JAXA. "Space Calendar". NASA JPL. "ISS Calendar". Spaceflight 101. "Launch Forecast". Space.com. Clark, Stephen. "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. "U.S. Space Objects Registry". "Хроника освоения космоса" [Chronicle of space exploration]. Cosmoworld.ru (in Russian).

Generic references:

Footnotes

1. Ariane 5 carries two satellites per mission; manifested payloads still need to be paired.

1. Gruss, Mike (April 27, 2016). "SpaceX wins $82 million contract for 2018 Falcon 9 launch of GPS 3 satellite". SpaceNews. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
2. Clark, Stephen (18 March 2015). "Delta 4-Heavy selected for launch of solar probe". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
3. Kubo, Nobuhiro (July 19, 2016). "Tarpaulin delays Japanese military communications satellite by two year". Space News. Retrieved 2016-08-03.