The launch also resulted in a3.5-acre fireon state park land.
Conservation groupssued the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming the launch should have never been allowed.
The coming year should bear witness to even more progress, and possibly even atrek to low Earth orbit.
Hot fire test of SpaceX’s Starship, February 9, 2023.Photo: SpaceX
The companydebuted its Starlink V2 minis, which feature several design improvements and a smaller form factor.
SpaceXs Starship failed during its two demo flights, but so too did other fledgling launch vehicles.
The California-based company isalready working on the next version, which promises to be bigger and better.
Starship during its inaugural flight on April 20.Photo: SpaceX
In September, Rocket Labs usually reliable Electronexperienced an in-flight anomaly, grounding the SpaceX rival for three months.
As for United Launch Alliances Vulcan Centaur, it never left the ground.
The first crewed flight of Starliner is now scheduled for April 2024.
H3 during its doomed inaugural launch on March 7.Screenshot: JAXA
Researchers from the California Institute of Technology reportedlybeamed solar power from space to Earth without a single wire.
Its a technological first, and a breakthrough withprofound implicationsfor renewable energy.
So yeah, a big deal.
Terran 1’s booster engines during the launch.Photo: Relativity Space
Up, up, and away!
By doing so,the team set a new launch speed record.
Private companies from Europe and China also broke new ground in 2023.
Starliner during an uncrewed mission to the ISS on May 20, 2022.Photo: NASA
Earlier in the year, Chinese companySpace Pioneer established a pair of milestones.
As Lucy zipped past Dinkinesh on November 1,it imaged not one but two asteroidsor so it seemed.
Upon further inspection, athird asteroid made an appearance, clinging closely to its newfound partner.
The LauncherOne rocket while attached to the Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft.Photo: Virgin Orbit
NASA said its the first direct observation of a contact binary orbiting another asteroid.
On September 24, theOSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned to Earth, dropping off rocky samples collected from asteroid Bennu.
NASA is now formulating a plan for opening the canister without compromising the integrity of the precious cargo inside.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft on board launching on October 13 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Photo: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
The ensuing investigation found that a large cliff caused the lander to miscalculate its distance to the surface.
This incidentsignificantly impacted investor confidence, but despite this, ispace is aiming for a second attempt in 2024.
Russias Luna-24 was the second lander tocrash onto the lunar surface in 2023, doing so on August 19.
The launch of Victus Nox on September 14 from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex-2.Photo: U.S. Space Force/A1C Kadielle Shaw
Luna-24 marked Russias first lunar mission attempt in 47 years, highlighting the nations lag in lunar exploration.
Chandrayaan-3 did some important scientific workbefore succumbing to the eventual lunar night,uncovering traces of a volatile element.
NASA, seeking an alternative to SpaceXs Moon lander,signed a $3.4 billion contract with Blue Origin.
Asteroid Dinkinesh and its two moons.Image: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL
But like so many other things on this year-end wrap up, these developments came with a gray lining.
The path to advancement in space exploration is invariably marked by both triumphs and setbacks.
Failures, though disheartening, can serve as necessary stepping stones.
The canister head, with exterior asteroid samples visible.Screenshot: NASA
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Virgin Galactic performed two commercial missions in 2023.
The company conducted five during the year.
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A view of the lunar surface and suspected crash site one day after the failed Hakuto-R landing attempt.Image: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
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NASA’s Jim Stein modeling the spacesuit during the unveiling.Screenshot: NASA TV
Conceptual image of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon human landing system.Image: Blue Origin
