2017 in spaceflight

2017 in spaceflight

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule will resume human spaceflight from the USA in 2017, along with SpaceX's Dragon V2

Notable spaceflight activities in 2017 will include the maiden flights of both Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragon V2 capsules, thereby restoring capabilities for human spaceflight from the USA which has been halted since the Space Shuttle retirement in 2011. Thus the goals of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program will have been reached.

After a record-breaking 13-year mission observing Saturn, its rings and moons, the Cassini space probe will be deliberately destroyed by plunging into Saturn's atmosphere, a maneuver currently scheduled for September 15, 2017.

Launches

Date and time (UTC)	Rocket		Launch site		LSP
	Payload	Operator	Orbit	Function	Decay (UTC)	Outcome
	Remarks
20 January	Delta II 7920		Vandenberg SLC-2W		United Launch Alliance
	JPSS-1	NOAA	Planned: Low Earth	Meteorology
26 January	Atlas V 531		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	AEHF 4	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
27 January	Ariane 5 ECA		Kourou ELA-3		Arianespace
	BepiColombo	ESA / JAXA	Planned: Mercurian orbit	Mercury probes
	Joint ESA / JAXA Mercury mission consisting of two orbiters
First Quarter (TBD)	Vega		Kourou ELV		Arianespace
	Sentinel-3B	ESA	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
1 February	Soyuz-U		Baikonur Site 31/6		Roscosmos
	Progress MS-05	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
1 February	Falcon 9		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-11	SpaceX / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
	NICER[1]	NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	X-ray astronomy
2 February	Delta IV M+(5,4)		Cape Canaveral SLC-37B		United Launch Alliance
	WGS-9	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Communications
11 March	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-04	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 51/52
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
March (TBD)[2]	Falcon Heavy		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	STP-2	US Air Force	Planned: Geosynchronous	Technology demonstration
8 April	Falcon 9 full thrust		Cape Canaveral SLC-40		SpaceX
	SpaceX CRS-12	SpaceX / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
April (TBD)	Atlas V		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	Boe-OFT	Boeing / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Flight test
	Boeing Orbital Flight Test of CST-100 Starliner as part of Commercial Crew Development program. 30-day robotic mission.
April (TBD)	Rokot / Briz-KM		Plesetsk Site 133/3		/ Eurockot
	Sentinel-2B	ESA	Planned: Low Earth (SSO)	Earth observation
May (TBD)	Falcon 9 full thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpX-DM1	SpaceX / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Flight test
	Crew Dragon Demo 1: Planned test of Dragon V2 as part of Commercial Crew Development program
12 June	Antares 230		MARS LP-0A		Orbital ATK
	Cygnus CRS OA-8E	Orbital ATK / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS logistics
June (TBD)	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-05	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 52/53
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
July (TBD)	Atlas V		Cape Canaveral SLC-41		United Launch Alliance
	Boe-CFT	Boeing / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Flight test
	Boeing Crewed Flight Test of CST-100 Starliner as part of Commercial Crew Development program. 14-day manned mission.
August (TBD)[3]	Falcon 9 full thrust		Kennedy LC-39A		SpaceX
	SpX-DM2	SpaceX / NASA	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Flight test
	Crew Dragon Demo 2: Crewed flight test of Dragon V2 as part of Commercial Crew Development program
September (TBD)	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-06	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 53/54
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
November (TBD)	Soyuz-FG		Baikonur Site 1/5		Roscosmos
	Soyuz MS-07	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	Expedition 54/55
	Manned flight with three cosmonauts
November (TBD)[3]	Proton M		Baikonur		Roscosmos
	Nauka	Roscosmos	Planned: Low Earth (ISS)	ISS assembly

Deep space rendezvous

Date (GMT)	Spacecraft	Event	Remarks
22 April 2017[4]	Cassini	127th flyby of Titan	Closest approach: 979 kilometres (608 mi).
15 September 2017	Cassini	Atmospheric entry into Saturn

Orbital launch summary

By country

Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By launch site

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not Achieved	Accidentally Achieved	Remarks
Transatmospheric	0	0	0	0
Low Earth	0	0	0	0
Geosynchronous/transfer	0	0	0	0
Medium Earth	0	0	0	0
High Earth	0	0	0	0

References

Kyle, Ed. "Space Launch Report". Wade, Mark. "Encyclopedia Astronautica". Krebs, Gunter. "Chronology of Space Launches". Gunter's Space Page. "Space Information Center". JAXA. McDowell, Jonathan. "Jonathan's Space Report". Jonathan's Space Page. "NASASpaceFlight.com". "Space Calendar". NASA JPL. "Southwest Space Archive". "Launch Forecast". Space.com. "Spaceflight Now". Pietrobon, Steven. "Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive". "U.S. Space Objects Registry". "Хроника освоения космоса ('Chronicle of space exploration')" (in Russian). Cosmoworld.ru.

Generic references:

Footnotes

1. "The Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR Mission". NASA. Retrieved 2016-02-26. Previously scheduled for a December 2016 launch on SpaceX-12, NICER will now fly to the International Space Station with two other payloads on SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services (CRS)-11, in the Dragon vehicle's unpressurized Trunk.
2. Stephen Clark [StephenClark1] (2016-03-01). "Payload officials with satellites aboard STP-2 mission (second Falcon Heavy) say launch has slipped from Oct. 2016 to March 2017." (Tweet).
3. Frommert, Hartmut (10 April 2016). "International Space Station Flight Schedule". Retrieved 28 April 2016.
4. "Cassini Solstice Mission: Saturn Tour Dates: 2017". saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2015-09-06.