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The Pioneer 11 reaches the first Sagittarius star

Pioneer 10 reaches Aldebaran in Taurus

Voyager 2 passes 4.3 light years from Sirius

Voyager 1 comes within 1.6 light years of the star AC + 79 38888 of Camelopardis and is captured by its gravity (it is currently in the direction of the constellation Ofphiuco, or the direction of the Solar Apex: the direction in which the Sun

NASA’s Perseverance mission makes its entry into the Martian atmosphere, the so-called 7 minutes of terror. Everything goes according to plan, and the big rover rests gently on the ground, with the Ingenuity drone helicopter aboard. A photo of the rover is also taken while,

The Tianwen-1 mission, with the rover on board, enters orbit around Mars.

The Amal (Hope – Hope) probe of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enters the Martian orbit.

Richard Branson’s Virgin launches a satellite into orbit from a high-flying plane.

Boca Chica, southern tip of Texas. A prototype of Elon Musk’s Space X StarShip takes off, performs the attitude control operations at 12 km altitude, glides with a lifting body profile, tries to land in the correct point, but at the last moment two of

The reentry probe of the Japanese mission Hayabusa-2 successfully lands in Australia and its precious Ryugu meteoritic soil content is brought to Japan for analysis.

Ocean of Storms, Luna. The Chinese Chang’e 5 probe lands successfully, takes a sample of a couple of kg of lunar soil, restarts and automatically joins with the mother probe in orbit.

Space-X successfully launches the Dragon probe with 4 NASA astronauts, which docks at the ISS space station. This is the first NASA astronaut launch on Dragon

The American Osiris-Rex probe touches the asteroid Bennu, takes a sample, and immediately restarts, as expected. It was launched in 2016.

The Space X Crew Dragon capsule with the two American astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board successfully returns to the atmosphere and ditches in the Gulf of Mexico, returning from the ISS space station. This is the first return with an American capsule

Wenchang Launch Site, China. A Long March 5 carrier launches the Tianwen-1 rover towards Mars.

Cape Canaveral, Florida. An Atlas V 541 carrier launches NASA’s Perseverance rover to Mars.

Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. Launch of the Amal (Hope – Hope) probe, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is launched by a Mitsubishi H-IIA carrier. It will arrive in Martian orbit on February 9, 2021.

Space X makes history by becoming the first private company to launch astronauts into space. It is also the first launch of American astronauts from American soil since 2011. The launch is carried out with the Falcon-9 and the Crew Dragon shuttle, which the next

Kazakhstan. The Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano returns to Earth after 210 days on the ISS, as commander of Expedition 61 (first Italian and third European), and after having participated in several EVAs for the repair of the AMS02 anti-matter observatory.

Pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Falcon 9 (a specimen that had already flown 3 other times) leaves the ramp and, 90s after launch, switches off the engines deliberately, the Dragon capsule detaches and saves the virtual crew by ditching, and the first stage

After half a century, some lunar soil samples taken in December 1972 by Apollo XVII astronauts are open. They had been left sealed at the time, awaiting future times when the analysis techniques would be more advanced.

India launches Chandrayaan-2 towards the Moon, the day after the 50th of the first steps on the Moon. The carrier rocket is the Mark III (GSLV M III).

Hayabusa-2 successfully lands on asteroid Ryugu for the second time, to take a second sample, this time in zone C01, where it created a 10m diameter crater on April 5th.

Luca Parmitano returns to the ISS space station for Expedition 60. It is the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing.

Space X launches Falcon Heavy, which successfully puts ArabSat into orbit. All three boosters land without problems (two at the same time on the ground a few tens of meters away, and one offshore in the ocean, on the platform “Of course I still love

The gigantic air transport system to space Stratolaunch, makes its first test flight.

The Israeli Beresheet probe fails to land softly on the moon, and crashes due to too high a speed.

The Hayabusa-2 fires a second explosive projectile, this time from a distance and copper, at the asteroid Ryugu, causing a crater about a dozen meters in diameter.

A major malfunction of the new Boeing 737 MAX attitude control SW MAX8 causes a plane to crash in Ethiopia, killing everyone on board, as well as other accidents. The government agencies of Europe, the United States, Canada and other countries, within a few days,

Richard Branson’s British Virgin Galactic sends the first paying passenger into space on a suborbital flight. It is the second flight in two months for the Unity reusable spacecraft. The cost of the ticket is 250,000 USD.

Cambridge, UK. Tony Foulds, 83, is present at the passage in formation of several USAF planes, along with thousands of people. We remember the event of 75 years earlier, when Tony, an 8-year-old boy, was there in that meadow, and a B-17 (flying fortress) was

23:58 on February 21 in Italy, 07:58 on February 22 in Japan. The Japanese probe Hayabusa-2 successfully lands on asteroid Ryugu, fires a small Tantalum projectile, takes samples of surface material, and takes off to position itself in a high orbit. The operation is shown

02:45 am on February 22 in Italy, at 8.45 pm on February 21 in Florida. Space X’s Falcon-9 spacecraft puts an Indonesian satellite, a USAF experimental satellite and the Israeli Beresheet private probe into orbit, which launches towards the Moon in concentric orbits. After the

The Chinese probe Chang’e 4 lands in the von Karman crater, on the far side of the moon.

The SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, of Virgin Galactic, flies over the Mojave Air and Space Port, reaching a height of 82.7 km, before landing again at the base. The pilots are Mark Stucky and CJ Sturckow.

The American probe New Horizons successfully flies by the Ultima Thule object, and starts transmitting the photos. It is 6 light hours away.

Mars. The American probe Mars Insight lands on Martian soil, in the Elysium Planitia area.

The American probe Osiris REX arrives in orbit around the asteroid Bennu. Osiris stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, and Osiris is also a deity linked to life, fertility, death and resurrection. Bennu is a bird symbol of birth and resurrection.

The Kepler Space Telescope has reached the end of its life and the further extension of the mission. It has found over 2600 confirmed planets outside the Solar System.

The Soyuz Expedition-57 mission with astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin on board must abort the insertion into orbit, a few minutes after launch, due to a problem during the release of the side boosters. The crew returns to the ground safely, but the

The Japanese probe Hayabusa-2 successfully lands the first two rovers on the asteroid Ryugu

The American exoplanet-hunting space telescope, TESS, is launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The vector is recovered.

The Chinese space station Tiangong 1 (Heavenly Palace) re-enters and disintegrates into the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. It was launched on September 29, 2011. It has a mass of 8 tons (as a comparison to the return the American Skylab in July 1979 weighed

Elon Musk’s Space X launches the Falcon Heavy for the first time, carrying a Tesla Roadster sports car and a Space X spacesuit mannequin, into an orbit beyond Mars to the dwarf planet Ceres. The images from space with the Roadster and Earth in the

China, for the first time, launches more rockets (no more satellites …) than any other nation.

John Young dies, astronaut on Apollo X, Apollo XVI (walking on the Moon with Charlie Duke), Gemini 3 and 10 and STS-1 (he is the first to fly the Space Shuttle) and STS-9

Paolo Nespoli returns to Earth on Soyuz, after 139 days on the ISS Space Station. At 60 and on his third mission to the ISS, he is a record for Italy.

Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser return shuttle makes a first flight without any problems (the previous flight had a problem with the trolley). It is unhooked from a Chinook helicopter from more than 12Km of altitude.

The Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli leaves, with the Soyuz, on the R-7 vector, for the ISS space station. This is his second time, after 17 years, and now at the age of 60.

Space X’s Dragon probe, after delivering its payload to the ISS space station, returns to Earth and is recovered, as is the rocket. This is the first time the Dragon has been used again. It is in fact a shuttle that was already used years

USAF’s military space shuttle X-37B returns to Earth after 718 days in orbit. This is the fourth X-37B mission.

The Cassini probe crosses the plane of Saturn’s rings for the first time, from the inner side of the same. Pass unscathed and send unpublished photos. It is hit by very few and tiny micro meteorites, contrary to the initial fears that caused the main

The European Martian probe Gas Trace Orbiter, with Italian instruments to study methane emissions, fits correctly into the Martian orbit and releases the European probe Schiaparelli, with 34% of Italian technological contribution, attempts to land on Mars. The entry into the atmosphere works, as does

The European probe Rosetta crashes into comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in a controlled and relatively slow manner. This allows him to take photos of the ground and spectral readings right up to the last minute.

China sends its second orbiting station into orbit: Tiangong-2.

NASA’s Osiris-Rex probe is launched towards the asteroid Bennu. Osiris stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, and Osiris is also a deity linked to life, fertility, death and resurrection. Bennu is a bird symbol of birth and resurrection. The probe is

Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket explodes to the ground during a test procedure. The Facebook satellite is destroyed.

The American Juno probe fits correctly into orbit around Jupiter.

Russia. Vostochny Space Base (formerly Svobodny). It was decided in 1994 by Boris Yeltsin, to replace Baikonur, now in Kazakhstan. The first launch from the new ramp takes place on April 28, 2016. From other ramps they took place from 1997 onwards.

Space X by Elon Musk successfully launches a Japanese satellite, then the Falcon 9 rocket turns and lands on the drone ship “Of course I still love you” in the middle of the Atlantic, all in the complete darkness of the night. Another success for

Elon Musk’s Space X successfully launches the Dragon shuttle towards the ISS Space Station, then the Falcon 9 rocket turns and returns to the drone ship “Of course I still love you” (name taken from a GCU-class battleship of a novel by Iain M. Banks).

Jeff Bezos’ (Amazon’s) Blue Origin completes its third suborbital flight with the same reusable rocket, launches the parachuting capsule, and the New Shepard rocket returns landing vertically in West Texas on its predestined platform. Jeff Bezos wears his cowboy boots with the inscription Gradatum Ferociter

Cape Canaveral, Florida. Elon Musk’s Space X Falcon 9 rocket launches 9 satellites into orbit and then maneuvers and returns to Cape Canaveral making a vertical landing. This is an important milestone for space travel, making a traditional launch vector completely reusable, with Vertical Take

Akatsuki, a Japanese mission to Venus was launched in 2010. At the key moment of its entry into the Venusian orbit it goes into safe-mode, and loses the opportunity. But the Japanese team does not lose heart: they study a rescue plan and on December

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origins launches and retrieves the New Shepard rocket. The rocket reaches 100Km in height, releases the capsule, and then re-enters and lands vertically in a controlled manner.

Robert W. Farquhar, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland, suddenly dies of a respiratory problem at the age of 83. He was the creator of innovative, economical and spectacular NASA missions, competing with the most successful, consolidated and well-known Californian

13: 49 ‘: 59 ”Italian time. The American probe New Horizons (aka Pluto Express) passes, as scheduled, 12000 Km away from Pluto, at 13.78Km / s.

Comet 67P / Churyumov Gerasimenko. The Philae probe of the European probe Rosetta awakens temporarily, managing to send us the last data packets, through the mother probe Rosetta in orbit around the comet.

The American probe Dawn, after having visited the asteroid Vesta, now enters orbit around the asteroid Ceres, a few months before the New Horizons arrives on Pluto, thus becoming Dawn, the first probe to visit a dwarf planet. Of Ceres, it turns out that it

First close-up photos of the dwarf planet Ceres by the Dawn probe. It is a US-Italy-Germany collaboration.

President Barack Obama presents Katherine Johnson with the Presidential medal of Freedom, an honor that John Glenn was awarded in 2012. Katherine Johnson is one of several calculating women who helped make NASA history in the 1960s. . Among them also Dorothy Vaugham, Margery Hannah,

Plesetsk, near Arkangel, Russia. The Russian Angara 5 rocket with 20ton load capacity in low orbit (LEO) makes its first test launch and carries a 2tn test load in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). He will have to replace Proton and make Russia independent from Baikonur in

The Dawn probe (US-Italy-Germany collaboration) wakes up, as scheduled, after seven years of interplanetary travel with its ion engines, takes the first photos of the Ceres planetoid to calibrate the on-board instruments. Dawn has already visited another planetoid, Vesta. Ceres is the most massive and

The American probe New Horizons (aka Pluto Express) wakes up, as planned, at 4.7 billion km and 4 hours and a half light from Earth.

The new NASA ORION system makes its first launch, bringing the probe, capable of carrying 4 astronauts, to a height of 5800Km, to then re-enter the Pacific Ocean and be fished out. The rocket is of the United Launc Alliance – ULA, derived from a

A Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket launches the Hayabusa-2 mission, which, powered by the ion electric motor, will arrive at the asteroid Ryugu on June 27, 2018, will fire two bullets at it, will take substantial samples, will launch you hoppers, and will bring them back to

The Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti participates in mission 42 to the ISS space station. Thus becomes the first Italian in orbit.

17:00 Italian time. The Philae probe of the European probe Rosetta touches the comet 67P / Churyumov Gerasimenko, the harpoons do not activate, it bounces for hundreds of meters and after two hours, at 17:26 it touches again, it bounces again and finally at 17:33

In the field of private space launches there are 39 space transport vehicles from 26 different companies (9 of which are American). 2 are operational: Cygnus (5 successes on 6 flights) by Orbital Sciences, launched by the Antares rocket, the Dragon (5 successes on 5

Mojave Desert, California. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo spacecraft explodes within minutes of separating from WhiteKnightTwo. It was the fourth flight. The pilot manages to jump with a parachute and arrives seriously injured on the ground. The co-pilot gets trapped in the shuttle and dies.