2022 in spaceflight

CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) is a lunar orbiter that is testing and verifying the calculated orbital stability planned for the Lunar Gateway space station. The spacecraft is a 12-unit CubeSat that is also testing a navigation system that is measuring its position relative to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) without relying on ground stations. It was launched on 28 June 2022, arrived in lunar orbit on 14 November 2022, and was scheduled to orbit for six months. On 18 May 2023, it completed its primary mission to orbit in the near-rectilinear halo orbit for six months, but will stay on this orbit, continuing to perform experiments during an enhanced mission phase.

Garatéa-L is a space probe planned by the Brazilian company Airvantis with the support of institutions such as INPE, IMT, ITA, LNLS/CNPEM, PUC-RS, UFSC, USP and USRA. It will be the first Brazilian mission in deep space, as well as the first directed to the Moon. The CubeSat will be launched by an Indian rocket PSLV as part of the Pathfinder mission, which will pioneer deep space commercial exploration through a partnership between British private companies with the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

EQUULEUS (EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft) is a nanosatellite of the 6U CubeSat format that will measure the distribution of plasma that surrounds the Earth (plasmasphere) to help scientists understand the radiation environment in that region. It will also demonstrate low-thrust trajectory control techniques, such as multiple lunar flybys, within the Earth-Moon region using water steam as propellant. The spacecraft was designed and developed jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Tokyo.

DESTINY (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned mission to fly by the Geminids meteor shower parent body 3200 Phaethon, and sample dust originating from the "rock comet". The spacecraft is being developed by the Japanese space agency JAXA and will demonstrate advanced technologies for future deep space exploration. As of October 2024, DESTINY is planned to be launched in fiscal year 2028.

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM, pronounced 'crism' or 'krizz-em', as if the X was a chi), is an X-ray space telescope. It is a mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in partnership with NASA and ESA, intended to study galaxy clusters, outflows from galaxy nuclei, and dark matter.

Psyche (SY-kee) is a NASA Discovery Program space mission launched on October 13, 2023, to explore the origin of planetary cores by orbiting and studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche beginning in 2029. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project.

Blue Origin NS-23 was an sub-orbital cargo spaceflight mission of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, New Shepard Booster 3 (NS3), which launched on September 12, 2022. The booster failed during max q about a minute after launch, triggering the launch escape system which removed the capsule from the booster. The capsule landed successfully, while the booster was destroyed upon impact with the ground.

Blue Origin NS-22 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which launched on August 4, 2022, using the New Shepard rocket. It was Blue Origin's Blue Origin's sixth flight to carry passengers and the twenty-second overall to go into space.

Starship flight test 1 was the maiden flight of the integrated SpaceX Starship launch vehicle. SpaceX performed the flight test on April 20, 2023. The prototype vehicle was destroyed less than four minutes after lifting off from the SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. The vehicle became the most powerful rocket ever flown, breaking the half-century-old record held by the Soviet Union's N1 rocket. The launch was the first "integrated flight test," meaning it was the first time that the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft flew together as a fully integrated Starship launch vehicle.

Blue Origin NS-21 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission, operated by Blue Origin, which launched on 4 June 2022 using the New Shepard rocket. It was Blue Origin's fifth flight to carry passengers, and twenty-first overall to reach space.