CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Taking a look back at the year in space for 2024, the Space Coast remained the epicenter of historic launches and missions.
The Space Coast saw a record 88 launches in 2024, eclipsing the old record of 72 set in 2023.
“We are seeing launches at a rate that would be stunning even just maybe five years ago,” said Don Platt, an associate professor with the Florida Tech College of Engineering and Science.
From commercial space flights, to updates on NASA's Artemis program, industry surrounding the final frontier did not disappoint.
Major milestones in commercial space
Starship flight tests
SpaceX led the way in commercial space with more test flights of their Starship spacecraft — the most powerful rocket ever built that will send people back to the moon and beyond.
The uncrewed test once again took place at the company’s Starbase launch complex in Texas, but will soon be blasting off from Florida's Space Coast.
Back on Oct. 13 during the fourth Starship test flight, a booster came back and was caught by the "chopstick" arms on the pad’s tower successfully for the first time ever.
Polaris Dawn mission
In September, the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission provided the first-ever commercial space walk after the Falcon 9 rocket roared off Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A with Crew Dragon Resilience.
On board, Commander Jared Issacman, the billionaire who helped fund this mission, pilot Scott Kidd Poteet, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, two SpaceX engineers.
Right off the bat the Crew Dragon passed through the inner regions of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belt, about three times higher than the ISS, traveling farther than any astronaut has since the Apollo era.
On day three, they performed the Spacewalk with the goal of testing out SpaceX’s new spacesuits in the harsh conditions of space.
After their five-day mission, the crew of four splashed down off the Florida coast.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule
Two NASA astronauts remain on the International Space Station after arriving on a trouble-ridden Starliner this past summer for the Boeing Crew Flight Test.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been in space since June and will be in orbit until at least late March.
Their empty Boeing Starliner spacecraft safely returned to Earth without them in September leaving the astronauts.
Wilmore and Williams will come home on the Crew-9 mission in March or April.
The two test pilots planned on being away just a week or so when they blasted off June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station.
Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September.
Both are undergoing training on the SpaceX Crew Dragon for the return flight.
“One of the unique challenges is how do we integrate the other two crew members into the Dragon operations when they’ve had minimal Dragon training before they launched,” said Crew-9 Cmdr. Nick Hague.
Other commercial projects
United Launch Alliance also launched its first two Heavy Lift Vulcan rockets on test flights from the Space Coast in 2024.
It’s still possible Blue Origin could launch it’s first New Shepard rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station before the end of the year.
Future of the Artemis program
As the year comes to a close, NASA is making some decisions on the future of the Artemis program.
Issues the Space Launch System (SLS) experienced with the Orion capsule’s heat shield during the Artemis I uncrewed test flight in November 2022 are now coming to bear with Boeing laying off some 140 Florida workers.
Boeing is the prime manufacturer of the giant heavy lift rocket which will take crews back to the moon.
NASA announced the Artemis II crewed test flight is now being delayed until April 2026 and Artemis III is being pushed to mid 2027 where astronauts will land on the moon’s south pole.
“If they are delaying the Artemis, (it) sounds like a lot of the delays are with the Orion capsule, and that’s basically Lockheed Martin, so there’s probably going to be less work for Boeing to do here," said Florida Tech's Platt. "They're just not in the mood to pay people to just sit around.”
Platt added that with the slow down, Boeing can get by with a smaller workforce on the space coast.
The layoffs are expected to take effect mid-January.
Launch Pad 39B
Since January 2024, engineers have been working overtime to get Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center ready for the historic mission.
Launch Pad 39B is what’s called a “clean pad,” meaning NASA’s mobile launcher will bring rockets like the Artemis mission’s Space Launch System to the pad, and wire in for communications, power and fuel.
The unique set up allows for other rockets down the road to hook up and liftoff.
The new egress system has major safety measures in place in case of an emergency during launch countdown.
The system allows the crew and personnel to exit the Orion capsule or “white room” through the crew access arm — which is a platform installed at the 274-foot level on the mobile launcher tower.
The astronauts would descend more than 1,300 feet inside emergency baskets that are roughly the size of a small SUV and attached to 1,335-foot long cables. The Catenary system of cables is similar to gondolas used for ski lifts, according to NASA.
“We can evacuate them as quickly as we can, get them to a safe haven,” said Jesse Berdis, Artemis II deputy project manager.