Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), the third private mission to the ISS, is set to launch an all-European crew and numerous scientific experiments to low Earth orbit. This upcoming mission will last for two weeks. The launch will take place from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on January 18, via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft Freedom.
Rocket Lab is set to launch a new Electron mission in December following an anomaly in September. The upcoming mission will carry the TSUKUYOMI-I satellite and is named “The Moon God Awakens.” Rocket Lab has been cleared to resume launches after determining that the first stage of the rocket was not the cause of the anomaly. The company has also been working on reusability, with a successful ocean splashdown recovery in July.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is hopeful yet unsure about the success of the next Starship test launch. After the explosion of the first attempt, SpaceX has been developing new measures to prevent a similar mishap. Musk believes they have a decent chance of reaching orbit with the upcoming launch.