2022 will be a rich year for major space missions. Ten of them particularly deserve to be followed with the greatest attention.
The year 2022 promises to be spectacular for anyone interested in the news of the conquest of space: several rockets (Ariane 6, Vega-C, Vulcan Centaur, New Glenn) are due to make their maiden flight. The Chinese space station must be completed. Boeing’s capsule, Starliner, must succeed in reaching the International Space Station (ISS).
But above all, 2022 must be the opportunity to launch or continue some more distant missions: the James Webb space telescope should deliver its first scientific data; the ExoMars 2022 mission is due to leave for Mars; the Psyche probe to a metallic asteroid; and above all, NASA must give the starting signal for the return of astronauts to the Moon!
A word of caution: space being a complex matter, it can happen that the dates initially planned are brought to change, for one reason or another. In other words, the schedule indicated below is given as an indication and it is likely to evolve. If this happens, we will do our best to update it to be as up to date as possible.
February 2022: Departure of the Artemis 1 mission around the Moon
Artemis 1 is the very first mission in the Artemis program, which aims to bring astronauts back to the moon. This first mission will be an uninhabited mission: it involves making a loop around the satellite with the Orion capsule. It will also be the occasion to carry out the maiden flight of NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
2nd quarter 2022: Inaugural flight of the European light rocket Vega-C
The new version of the European light launcher Vega is due to make its maiden flight in 2022. The machine, whose structure was designed to be used as a booster for Ariane 6, thus completes the range of European rockets, with Soyuz (medium launcher) and Ariane 5 then 6 (heavy launcher). Vega-C, that’s its name, will be operated from the Guyanese space center.
Q1 2022: CST-100 Starliner test to the ISS
The transport capsule built by Boeing is due to perform a second unmanned test flight in Q1 2022, after failing during the first attempt at the end of 2019. The CST-100 Starliner capsule will then have to perform another test later in 2022, but this time with a training crew. And later the real missions will take place.
June / July 2022: Recovery of the first data from the James Webb telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope did leave Earth on December 25, 2021, but it will not arrive at its destination until the end of January 2022. Then, the observatory will enter a long phase of calibration and alignment. It will take 6 months to complete these preparatory steps. It was not until the middle of the year that its first scientific data would be collected and published.
September 2022: Departure of the ExoMars 2022 mission
The European Space Agency, in association with Roscosmos, its Russian counterpart, is to launch the second part of the ExoMars mission. This is a robotic mission to the planet Mars. The objective is to drop a rover called Rosalind Flanklin on the surface of the red planet. The first part of the mission took place in 2016.
3rd quarter 2022: Inaugural flight of the European heavy rocket Ariane 6
The new generation of the European heavy launcher must also make its maiden flight in 2022, still from the European spaceport of Kourou, in Guyana. Everything is ready on site for the big day: the engines, the launch pad and the contracts. The rocket benefits, among other things, from an upper stage capable of maneuvering in orbit, thanks to its reignition capacity.
2022: Completion of the Chinese space station Tiangong
China must complete the construction of its space station, called Tiangong. The structure has already made good progress in 2021: it is now able to accommodate crews and for a long time. A central module, Tianhe, is already in place. Two complementary laboratories, Wentian and Mengtian, are to be interfaced in Tianhe in the coming months.
2022: Departure of the Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid
NASA plans to launch the Psyche mission, which consists of a space probe to travel near a metallic asteroid – what the space agency describes as a “metal world”. It is a body whose structure is an alloy mixing iron and nickel. This will be an opportunity for SpaceX to mobilize its heavy rocket Falcon Heavy, which is rarely used.
2022: Inaugural flight of the New Glenn heavy rocket
2022 must be the year of the inaugural flight of New Glenn, the next rocket from the American company Blue Origin. Unveiled in 2016, it has colossal dimensions, which should allow it to carry heavy loads in orbit. This is not its only particularity: it must also be equipped with a reusable first stage.
2022: Inaugural flight of the Vulcan Centaur rocket
In anticipation of the replacement of its two current launchers, Atlas V and Delta IV, the joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA), which brings together Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is betting on a new machine: Vulcan Centaur. The craft says it responds not only to commercial orders, but also to certain needs of NASA and the defense of the United States.
