2020 was a very wild year with a lot that happened! There were many firsts for private Spaceflight and the entire space community. One of the biggest headlines was when SpaceX launched astronauts to the ISS from the US for the first time in nearly 10 years. There was also COVID-19, which affected everyone and life as we know it; moreover, comet Neowise became one of the most talked about stories of the year.

There are several astronomical phenomena visible from the Pacific Northwest in 2021, but 2021 will bring a few interesting storylines to watch. This will not include every single possible discovery or breakthrough, but will talk about the big stories that could change the landscape in a big way.

Mars Missions

2020 was a busy year for Mars missions with 3 missions by 3 countries. These missions are China’s Tianwen-1, the United Arab Emirates’ Hope Probe and NASA’s Perseverance Rover, which should all arrive at Mars in February of 2021.

The Hope Probe will study the Martian atmosphere during its proposed 687 day mission. Tianwen-1 is expected to make important geological and atmospheric discoveries. While the Perseverance Rover will study the geology of Mars and the potential for life.

Blue Origin

Blue Origin is going to have an exciting year with its New Glenn rocket in development and expected to launch in 2021. There are several companies that have expressed interest in using the New Glenn rocket as the rocket to launch their satellite. Moreover, in anticipation of the New Glenn rocket, NASA did add Blue Origin to the NASA rocket launch catalog. With this addition, Blue Origin is now eligible to bid on NASA contract launches until 2025.

Blue Origin did recently announce their new sea based rocket recovery barge, which was named after Jeff Bezos’ mother, which is a sign that Blue Origin has grand plans for 2021. Expect 2021 to be a busy year and a year of firsts for Blue Origin!

Boeing Starliner

Boeing and NASA announced that the second test for the the CST-100 Starliner capsule will be March 29. This launch will be the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2). If successful, a crewed test flight to ISS could happen as early as the summer of 2021. If both launches are successful, the Starliner would then be clear to begin flying operational crewed missions, which would be around 2022.

James Webb Telescope Launch

After years of delay and cost overruns, 2021 might actually see the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The JWST is so important because it would allow scientists to see exoplanets that were previously not visible. Moreover, there is the possible for the telescope to detect water vapor on said detected exoplanets.

Interesting Stories To Follow

These stories can change and worth noting:

• July 2021 – The Sloan Digital Sky Survey final data release of SDSS-IV is expected, which will include final data products and catalogs
• November 2021 – Planned launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the Moon. Artemis combines the SLS and Orion launch capsule.

What stories and breakthroughs are you looking forward to? Let us know!