As 2024 draws to a close, the space sector is experiencing a surge of excitement. Recently, Blue Origin completed its 28th mission, successfully sending six civilians on a ten-minute orbital journey aboard the New Shepard spacecraft. Notably, aerospace engineer Emily Calandrelli made history as the 100th woman to reach space. Looking ahead, Blue Origin is gearing up for the inaugural flight of its New Glenn rocket in December.

Additionally, Rocket Lab has been active with its missions launched from New Zealand and Virginia, while SpaceX conducted its sixth test of the Starship. On the governmental side, JAXA successfully launched a defense satellite from the Tanegashima Space Center, and Roscosmos deployed satellites designed to monitor Earth’s ionosphere.

Here are five exciting space missions to keep an eye on this December:

Five Noteworthy Space Missions in December 2024:

• Dec. 2: SpaceX’s SiriusXM Radio Satellite Launch: Tune in as a Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, delivering the SXM-9 satellite, crafted by Maxar Technologies, to the SiriusXM constellation.
• Dec. 3: Arianespace’s Environmental Data Mission: A Vega C rocket is set to launch the Sentinel-1C satellite, contributing vital radar data for disaster management and climate research on behalf of the European Commission.
• Dec. 20: ISRO’s Space Docking Experiment: The Indian Space Research Organisation will execute a Space Docking Experiment, aimed at paving the way for future missions that involve crew transfers between spacecraft or vehicle refueling.
• TBD: Japan’s ispace Lunar Expedition: The Resilience lunar lander, part of ispace’s mission, will not only carry a rover and radiation probe but also a unique art project to the moon.
• TBD: Anticipate Blue Origin’s New Glenn Launch: The long-awaited debut of the New Glenn rocket will put Blue Origin’s Blue Ring hardware to the test, marking an important step in the company’s space exploration ambitions.