2028 in spaceflight
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This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2028.
NASA plans to launch the Artemis IV mission, which will land astronauts near the south pole of the Moon. It is expected to be the first mission to land humans on the Moon since 1972.
NASA also plans to launch Dragonfly, a robotic rotorcraft probe which will explore Saturn's moon Titan,[1] and Space Reactor‑1 Freedom (SR-1 Freedom), a nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft which will send Skyfall—three Ingenuity-class helicopters—to Mars.[2]
Russia expects to launch the Luna 26 lunar orbiter in 2028.
Chang'e 8, the last mission before China’s moon base begins construction, is planned to launch.
The first uncrewed flight of Orel, Russia's replacement for the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, is scheduled for 2028.
India plans to launch the first module for the Bharatiya Antariksha Station in 2028.[3] India also plans to launch the Chandrayaan-4 and LUPEX lunar missions.
ESA expects to launch the Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars on an American commercial launch vehicle.[4]
Suborbital flights
| Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | ||
| Remarks | |||||||
| March (TBD)[99] |  Improved Orion |
 Esrange |
 MORABA / SNSA | ||||
| REXUS-39 |
DLR / SNSA | Suborbital | Education | ||||
| March (TBD)[99] | Improved Orion |
Esrange |
MORABA / SNSA | ||||
| REXUS-40 |
DLR / SNSA | Suborbital | Education | ||||
| October (TBD)[99] | Red Kite/Red Kite |
Esrange |
MORABA | ||||
| MAPHEUS-19 |
DLR | Suborbital | Microgravity research | ||||
| November (TBD)[99] |  VSB-30 |
Esrange |
MORABA | ||||
 TEXUS-65 |
DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity research | ||||
| November (TBD)[99] | VSB-30 |
Esrange |
MORABA | ||||
| TEXUS-66 |
DLR / ESA | Suborbital | Microgravity research | ||||
Deep-space rendezvous
| Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April 2028 | Lucy | Flyby of asteroid 11351 Leucus | Target altitude 1000 km |
| June 2028 | Hayabusa2 | Flyby of Earth[100] | Gravity assist |
| 11 November 2028 | Lucy | Flyby of asteroid 21900 Orus | Target altitude 1000 km |
Extravehicular activities (EVAs)
| Start date/time | Duration | End time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orbital launch statistics
By country
For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
| Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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 spaceport
| 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 | |
| Heliocentric orbit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Including planetary transfer orbits |
