It is worthwhile reflecting on all of the space successes in 2024, though if we believe we learn from our mistakes then it would seem the mission shortcomings are worth highlighting as well.
Fortunately, Live Science has prepared a list for our review. Its article “10 Times Space Missions Went Very Wrong in 2024” includes well known stories, such as the stranded Starliner and SpaceX rocket woes, as well as less covered items, such as:
- Tumbling Solar Sail – the failure of NASA’s new Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3);
- Shattering Spacecraft – multiple cases of new space debris and close calls that could have impacted other space missions; and
- Multiple Voyager Issues – the continued decline of the two Voyager probes as they reach further into space.
Check out the story for a full list of issues.
Note: This website has also covered a number of flubs, including:
- January 2024: Peregrine lunar lander fails to reach the Moon.
- February 2024: Odysseus lunar lander fails to accomplish mission on the Moon.
- March 2024: Japan’s Space One explodes after launch.
- March 2024: Cancellation of NASA’s On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1).
- April 2024: NASA stalls on the Mars Sample Return program after an independent review.
- July 2024: Cancellation of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) lunar rover project.
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