2020s in spaceflight
This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s.
Overview
In 2020, NASA plans to launch the Perseverance rover, followed by the maiden launch of the Space Launch System in November 2021; in 2023, NASA plans to carry out the first crewed flight of the SLS.The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue. In 2020, Blue Origin plans the maiden flight of New Glenn with a reusable first stage. In the same year SpaceX plans to launch its new fully reusable Starship.
NASA plans a return of humans to the Moon by 2024, first by assembling a Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit. A crewed exploration of Mars could follow in the mid 2030s. An uncrewed and then a crewed trip to Jupiter and Europa have been commonly contemplated, but no space agencies or companies have yet announced definite plans to launch a crewed mission further than Mars. SpaceX, a private company, has also announced plans to land humans on Mars in the mid-2020s, with the long-term goal of enabling the colonization of Mars.
India plans its first crewed flight with a spacecraft called Gaganyaan for December 2021 on a home-grown GSLV Mark III rocket. The mission would make India the 4th nation to launch a crewed space flight after Russia, US and China. India also plans to launch its second Mars probe, Mars Orbiter Mission 2, in 2024.
The number of small satellites launched annually was expected to grow to around one thousand, although SpaceX alone plans to launch more than that for its Starlink constellation. The majority of the satellites are expected to be communication satellites in large constellations.
Orbital launches
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
Deep-space rendezvous after 2024
| Date | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
| 9 January 2025 | BepiColombo | Sixth gravity assist at Mercury | |
| 5 December 2025 | BepiColombo | Hermocentric orbit insertion at Mercury |