Big Rockets, Massive Asteroids and More Space Highlights for 2022
The New York Times
Here’s a look at what may be launching in the year to come.
Spaceflight offered unceasing spectacles in 2021.
At times, it was overwhelming. Two new rovers landed on Mars, one of them shadowed by an experimental helicopter. Two billionaires launched themselves to the edge of space, and a third billionaire flew himself higher up into orbit. Then William Shatner flew to space, and a fourth billionaire enjoyed a stay aboard the International Space Station.
It didn’t end there. China started building a fully operational space station, but relied on a large rocket that reached orbit and then could not be controlled when part of it re-entered the atmosphere. Aboard the International Space Station, a pair of mishaps sent the outpost into unplanned flips in orbit. NASA said goodbye to one asteroid and headed back to Earth carrying samples of it. But NASA also launched a new mission to crash into another asteroid to study defending humanity from a future space-rock strike.