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From dispatching crew members to the International Space Station to launching a spacecraft toward Jupiter’s frigid moon Europa to investigate its potential for supporting life, 2024 proved to be an eventful and record-breaking year for NASA and its collaborators at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
JANUARY
Pioneering Lunar Lander Takes Off
The inaugural flight of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative lifted off with Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One lunar lander on the first launch of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket on January 8 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to examine the lunar exosphere, thermal characteristics, and magnetic fields on the Moon’s surface. This mission marked the first U.S. commercial lander aiming for the lunar surface; however, the spacecraft encountered a propulsion challenge that impeded its landing on the Moon.
JANUARY
Third Private Voyage to Orbital Space
At the world’s foremost multi-user spaceport, the four-member crew of Axiom Mission 3 became the third private astronaut expedition to launch to the International Space Station on January 18 from Launch Complex 39A. The crew executed over 30 research experiments devised for microgravity in partnership with organizations worldwide.
JANUARY
Comestibles and Resources Delivered to the International Space Station
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the first occasion on January 30 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The 20th resupply mission of the company delivered 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations, essentials, and apparatus to the International Space Station.
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FEBRUARY
Discerning Earth’s Climate
NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) is an initiative to observe and analyze what sets Earth apart from all other planets we study – life itself. Three-quarters of our home planet is enveloped by water, and PACE’s sophisticated instruments offer novel approaches to examine life at the ocean’s surface by quantifying the presence and distribution of minuscule algae known as phytoplankton. These observations are aiding investigators in better assessing ocean health, air quality, and climate change. PACE took off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 on February 8.
FEBRUARY
Intuitive Machines’ Inaugural Mission Touches Down on Moon
NASA’s CLPS initiative in collaboration with Intuitive Machines made history when the Nova C-class lunar lander was launched from Kennedy and subsequently arrived at the Moon’s South Pole area known as Malapert A on February 22.
FEBRUARY
Artemis II Simulation Procedures
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, alongside NASA’s Exploration Ground System’s Landing and Recovery Team and partners from the Department of Defense, took part in the Underway Recovery Test 11 off the shore of San Diego. This operation replicated procedures that will be employed to retrieve the Artemis II crew and the Orion spacecraft following their journey back from the Moon, with the crew disembarking a mockup of Orion into a boat and then transported to a U.S. Navy vessel.
MARCH
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Team Launches to Space Station
NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, took off on March 3 from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on an eight-month scientific mission on board the International Space Station.
MARCH
NASA’s SpaceX 30th Commercial Resupply Mission
Research and technological demonstrations, as well as food and other provisions, were dispatched to the International Space Station via NASA’s SpaceX commercial resupply initiative. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft launched on March 21 from Space Launch Complex 40.
APRIL
Solar Eclipse Enchants the Nation
A total solar eclipse swept across North America, traversing Mexico, the United States, and Canada on April 8. Kennedy provided coverage both on air and online from every city’s point of totality for viewers at home.
MAY
NASA Welcomes New Commercial Supply Spacecraft
Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser arrived at Kennedy on May 18 after undergoing tests at the agency’s Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. This uncrewed spaceplane is slated to launch aboard a ULA Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2025, delivering thousands of pounds of materials to the orbital laboratory.
MAY
Historic Marker Commemorates Original Headquarters Site
Officials unveiled a significant bronze historical plaque on May 28 to signify the site of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s original headquarters building just west of the current Central Campus Headquarters Building on NASA Parkway.
JUNE
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Launches First Team
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams became the first crew to travel aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Starliner launched on June 6 atop ULA’s Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 as part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station.
JUNE
Final NASA, NOAA GOES-R Launch
NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) GOES-U (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U) launched on June 25 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The GOES-U satellite is the final satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series, and it hosts seven instruments that gather advanced imagery and atmospheric data, offer real-time mapping of lightning activity, and identify incoming space weather threats.
JULY
Barge Transports Artemis II Core Stage to Kennedy
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Moon rocket, which will propel humans to the Moon, arrived on July 24 at Kennedy. NASA’s Pegasus barge transported the 212-foot-tall core stage from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is currently positioned at the Vehicle Assembly Building awaiting integration prior to the Artemis II launch.
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AUGUST
NASA, Northrop Grumman Launch Supplies to Space Station
NASA scientific research, materials,and apparatus launched on Aug. 24 aboard a Cygnus vehicle from Space Launch Complex 40 as part of Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply endeavor to the International Space Station.
SEPTEMBER
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Spacecraft Successfully Lands
An uncrewed Boeing Starliner vehicle separated from the space station and touched down on Sept. 7 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, concluding a three-month flight assessment to the orbiting laboratory.
SEPTEMBER
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Team Journeys to Space
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov took off for the International Space aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Sept. 28 for an approximate five-month mission as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. This launch marked the first crewed expedition from Space Launch Complex 40. Hague, Gorbunov, alongside NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are expected to return to Earth in early 2025.
OCTOBER
Mobile Launcher in Transit
NASA’s mobile launcher 1 completed the 4.2-mile journey on Oct. 4 from Launch Complex 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building to prepare for stacking the Artemis II Moon rocket. The mobile launcher had remained at the launch pad since August 2023 for integrated testing and enhancements. NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 also reached a milestone, having traveled 2,500 miles since its fabrication in 1965.
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OCTOBER
Jupiter Moon Mission Launches
NASA’s Europa Clipper is the agency’s inaugural mission to examine Jupiter’s frozen moon Europa to investigate if the ocean beneath the moon’s surface harbors the components necessary for life. The spacecraft launched on Oct. 16 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A. The Europa Clipper vehicle will arrive at Europa in 2030.
OCTOBER
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Returns to Earth
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, splashed down in their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Oct. 25, concluding a seven-month scientific mission aboard the International Space Station.
NOVEMBER
Fresh Science and Supplies Launched to Space Station
A SpaceX Dragon vehicle atop a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying over 6,000 pounds of materials, launched on Nov. 4 from Launch Complex 39A destined for the space station. The commercial resupply mission provided vital supplies and supported numerous research experiments during Expedition 72.
NOVEMBER
NASA’s Artemis II Booster Segments Take Form
Engineers and technicians from the Exploration Ground Systems Program initiated stacking on Nov. 20, the first segment of the Artemis II SLS solid rocket boosters onto mobile launcher 1 within the Vehicle Assembly Building.
DECEMBER
Record-Breaking Year of Launches
Over 80 launches ascended into space from Kennedy and Cape Canaveral in 2024, with 2025 expected to bring even more governmental and commercial missions to the Eastern Range.
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