Despite being entangled in government bureaucracy NASA's Artemis Program won't end up being a dud like all other previous programs before it. I want to see the Space Launch System finally take off from the launch pad and the Orion spacecraft fly through the vacuum with a crew on board. I hope NASA is able to get humans back on the Moon before 2030. They also aim to finally launch the James Webb Space Telescope by 2021.
I expect to see SpaceX unveil the Starship spacecraft around the time the first Expedition mission on the Dragon 2 is sent to the ISS. It’s first crewed flight will probably be the DearMoon mission which would be interesting to see. I also hope we start seeing SpaceX send supplies to other celestial bodies like the Moon and Mars, as well as seeing the the Falcon Heavy being used more.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard is cool and all, but I hope it’s utilized more than just as a space tourism spacecraft. It’d be more useful delivering stuff from one place to the other (i.e. San Francisco to Denver, Chicago to New York City, etc.) in my opinion. I’d also like to see New Glenn unveiled and flying before the end of 2030. They’re also expected to launch the Blue Moon mission around the middle of the decade, which would act as a stepping stone for human infrastructure in space.
Also, Boeing hopes to launch their Starliner spacecraft to the ISS with a crew despite not reaching the space station as intended in its uncrewed test flight. I think it’d be safer if they did another uncrewed test flight for the sake of safety.instead of trying to cut corners again. We don’t need another Challenger disaster and they sure as hell don’t want more bad PR.
Other private companies hope to get their own horse in the race. Rocket Lab has been seeing its own success with their Electron Rocket, and it hopes to implement their own system of rocket reusability. Virgin Galactic hopes to start their commercial services of the SpaceShipTwo in 2020, and Virgin Orbit will probably have their Launcher One rocket ready and flying in the same year. Sierra Nevada Corporation's cargo spaceplane Dreamchaser is expected to start flying missions to the ISS, and the United Launch Alliance hopes to launch the Dreamchaser missions on its new Vulcan rocket.
In terms of international space agencies, there is just too much for me to talk about them all, but the biggest developments we know of so far include the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) hopes to launch Chang’e 5 to the Moon, their own rover to Mars, and a new space station in the next decade on their Long March rockets. India’s ISRO hopes to send their own probes to other celestial bodies such as the Moon and Mars, as well as develop their own manned space capsule and space station. Russia will be adding more components to their side of the ISS and debut their new Orel / Federatsiya spacecraft to phase out the aging Soyuz.
As for Mars, the ESA and Roscosmos will be launching the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover and Kazachok Mars lander in July of 2020. NASA’s yet to be named Mars 2020 rover will also be launching in the summer. China also hopes to launch their own rover to Mars in 2020. More orbiters will also be sent to Mars from the USA, Japan, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
There’s just so much stuff related to space travel to talk about and I’m sure there’s more to talk about, it’s all so cool! I definitely missed some stuff, but it’s just so cool!!!!!!! YoY