2016 in spaceflight

2016 in spaceflight
SpaceX Photos · CC0 · source
Year	2016
First launch	2016-01-08
Last launch	2016-12-30
Notable	Rosetta, Juno, ExoMars, Hayabusa2, Falcon 9 return attempts

2016 in spaceflight saw a dense cadence of orbital launches, landmark planetary missions arriving or operating at distant targets, and accelerating activity by commercial actors such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Orbital ATK. Major national agencies including NASA, European Space Agency, Roscosmos, China National Space Administration, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency conducted coordinated activities across Low Earth Orbit, cislunar space, and interplanetary trajectories, while policy and budget debates in forums such as the United States Congress and European Union influenced programmatic directions.

Launches

A global launch manifest featured vehicles like Falcon 9 Full Thrust, Ariane 5, Proton-M, Long March 3B, H-IIA, Soyuz-FG, Delta II, and PSLV carrying satellites for operators such as Intelsat, Eutelsat, Iridium Communications, ChinaSat, and SES S.A.. The year began with a failed Proton-M mission early in January, affecting payloads from Gazprom Space Systems and prompting scrutiny from Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. Successful high-profile launches included SpaceX CRS-8 and SpaceX CRS-9 resupply missions to the International Space Station, an Arianespace dual-passenger Ariane 5 ECA flight for Eutelsat and Intelsat, and multiple Soyuz launches ferrying Expedition crews to the International Space Station. Reusable-vehicle trials by SpaceX and Blue Origin involved attempted first-stage returns and vertical landings, highlighted by the first successful booster landing on a floating platform after a Falcon 9 launch to deliver Orbcomm and commercial satellites. Suborbital activity included test flights of New Shepard by Blue Origin and various sounding rocket campaigns by national agencies such as Australian Space Agency-affiliated programs and Brazilian Space Agency contractors.

Notable missions and milestones

Planetary and deep-space milestones defined 2016. Juno arrived at Jupiter in July, beginning an orbital science campaign following a cruise from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and a launch on an Atlas V vehicle; scientific goals tied to proponents at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and investigators across United States institutions. Rosetta concluded its escort of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko with a controlled descent onto the nucleus, closing a mission led by European Space Agency and teams at Centre National d'Études Spatiales and DLR that reshaped cometary science. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparelli lander arrived at Mars after a launch on a Proton-M/Briz-M from Baikonur Cosmodrome in March, a program led by European Space Agency in partnership with Roscosmos to study atmospheric trace gases. Hayabusa2 launched on an H-IIA from Tanegashima Space Center bound for asteroid 162173 Ryugu under Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency stewardship, continuing the lineage of sample-return missions initiated by Hayabusa. NASA missions such as OSIRIS-REx moved through cruise phases toward Bennu, while planetary science assets like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Cassini–Huygens remained operational and productive. The year also saw maturation of commercial human-spaceflight hardware with milestone tests by Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation under Commercial Crew Program contracts managed by NASA.

Orbital and suborbital activities by country

United States activity combined civil and commercial launches by NASA, United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK). Russia maintained a high tempo of Soyuz and Proton operations from Baikonur Cosmodrome and Plesetsk Cosmodrome, supporting crew rotations and military and civilian payloads for organizations including Roscosmos and Russian Space Forces. China expanded the Long March family cadence with missions from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and Xichang Satellite Launch Center, deploying communications and navigation satellites for China Satellite Communications and completing launches supporting BeiDou constellation maturation by China Satellite Navigation Office. European Space Agency missions proceeded via Arianespace from Guiana Space Centre, while Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and India's Indian Space Research Organisation executed domestic launches with scientific and commercial payloads including GSAT communications platforms and science satellites launched aboard PSLV and GSLV vehicles. Emerging actors such as United Arab Emirates Space Agency and South Korea increased satellite procurement and research investments, and suborbital scientific flights by national research teams advanced atmospheric and microgravity experiments.

Commercial spaceflight developments

Commercial milestones accelerated: SpaceX pursued booster reusability with multiple attempted and several successful booster landings aboard autonomous spaceport drone ships, supporting contracts for SES S.A., Iridium, and ABS; Blue Origin performed repeatable tests of New Shepard; Orbital ATK completed resupply flights under Commercial Resupply Services contracts; Boeing and SpaceX progressed toward crewed demo flights under Commercial Crew Program agreements with NASA; and satellite-operator consolidation continued among companies like Intelsat and Eutelsat. Private ventures in small-satellite launch and constellations grew, with startups pursuing responsive access to Low Earth Orbit for Earth observation and communications, and investment activity increased from firms such as SoftBank and venture capital funds focused on space technologies.

Space policy, budgets, and international cooperation

Policy and budgetary decisions by United States Congress and executive agencies affected NASA priorities including planetary science, human exploration, and the Commercial Crew timetable, while the European Union and European Space Agency negotiated programmatic funding across science and launcher programs. Cooperative frameworks among NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA, and national ministries sustained partnerships on the International Space Station and on shared missions such as ExoMars. Geopolitical considerations influenced export control discussions involving United States Department of State and Russian procurement, and international fora addressed space traffic management and orbital debris mitigation with input from United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and agencies advocating norms of behavior in space.

Category:2016 in spaceflight