The Soaring Highs and Deflating Lows of Commercial Spaceflight in 2024

Although commercial spaceflight has been around since the 1960s, it’s managed to snake its way to the forefront of the space age over the past few years, slowly integrating itself into the national agenda of space travel. This past year has been tumultuous for the private space industry, testing just how big of a role it can play in the cosmos. Some companies crossed off major milestones in 2024, while others failed to rise to the occasion.

In 2024, the Moon claimed two lunar landers, a crew of astronauts was left stranded in space in the infamous Starliner fiasco, and a giant tower caught the largest rocket ever built. After following the major spaceflight events, Gizmodo is breaking down the highlights—and downfalls—of the industry during a crucial year.

Don’t call it a failure: Boeing strands its astronauts

Following years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft finally launched for its first crewed test flight, transporting two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) to fulfill a decade-old contract with NASA.

Starliner launched on June 5, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS. The spacecraft struggled to dock with the space station after five of the spacecraft’s thrusters failed during its approach. Starliner also developed five helium leaks, one of which had been identified prior to its launch.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft approaching the ISS. © NASA

The spacecraft remained docked to the ISS for three months as teams on the ground debated whether to return the crew on board Starliner. Finally, NASA and Boeing agreed to return an uncrewed Starliner and bring back the two astronauts on board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft undocked from the ISS on September 6, leaving its crew behind.

Boeing officials described the media coverage surrounding Starliner as “pretty painful,” and asked that reporters stop referring to the two NASA astronauts as being “stranded.” But really, we called it as we saw it, and we continue to cover a program that’s been plagued from the get-go.

In 2014, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX contracts to provide launch services for crew and cargo to the ISS. So far, SpaceX has delivered nine crews to the space station, while Boeing has yet to complete a single operational mission. So far, Starliner has cost Boeing a whopping $1.85 billion in total losses. Under its $4.2 billion contract with NASA, Boeing retains full ownership of the Starliner spacecraft while NASA acts as a customer that will (eventually?) purchase round-trip missions to the ISS.

After Starliner fumbled its first crewed flight, Boeing may be considering selling off its space program altogether. At the time the two contracts were handed out, Boeing was at the top of its game, riding on its legacy from historical programs (including Apollo), while SpaceX was deemed an untrustworthy newcomer to the industry. Today, the stark contrast between the two companies illustrates just how far the private space industry has come under the new space age.

Nice catch, SpaceX

“The probability is uncertain, but it is above zero,” SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk said during a video interview two years ago, explaining how his company plans on catching the largest rocket ever built and plucking it out of the air using giant mechanical arms. “Elon just said, delete the legs. Delete,” a SpaceX engineer said in the video. “We’ll just use the arms.”

SpaceX’s Starship made history during its fifth test flight. Image: SpaceX

Sure enough, Musk’s seemingly dubious vision came to fruition this year. On October 13, Starship lifted off for a historic test flight. For the first time, Mechazilla, a 400-foot-tall tower with two extended arms, caught the rocket’s 232-foot-tall (71-meter) Super Heavy booster, cradling Starship on its way down.

SpaceX’s prospective fully reusable super heavy-lift rocket edged closer to operational launches throughout the year, with each test flight proving more successful than the one before it. SpaceX launched its Starship rocket for the first time in April 2023, but its debut was less than ideal as the vehicle entered into a fatal tumble that forced ground controllers to issue a self-destruct command right before the four-minute mark of the mission.

In November 2023, Starship’s second test flight resulted in the in-flight destruction of both the Super Heavy booster and upper stage, but it was still a major improvement from its inaugural flight. For the third test flight in March, Starship successfully performed a stage separation, completed a full-duration burn of the second-stage engines, demonstrated internal propellant transfer for NASA, and tested the Starlink dispenser door. Starship’s fourth liftoff in June broke new grounds compared to its previous test flights, with the rocket largely surviving peak heating and max aerodynamic pressure during its controlled reentry.

SpaceX is developing the Starship human landing system (HLS), which will land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole for NASA’s Artemis 3 and 4 missions. The company is also seeking to use the megarocket to deliver cargo to low Earth orbit, the Moon, and eventually Mars.

More than just a space tourist

Since 2001, around 60 people have gone to space for tourism, traveling to suborbital heights to mainly check out the views. But this year, space tourism reached new heights, with private astronauts traveling to higher altitudes than ever before and performing the first commercial spacewalk.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman emerging from Dragon.

On September 12, Polaris Dawn became the first private mission to conduct a spacewalk, with two astronauts stepping outside a SpaceX capsule into the vacuum of space for a historic moment that broke new ground for commercial spaceflight. Polaris Dawn is the first of three private missions on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft purchased by tech entrepreneur, space enthusiast, and potential new head of NASA, Jared Isaacman.

The billionaire-funded mission reached a maximum orbit of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) above Earth, also setting a new record for Earth-orbit apogee (the farthest point reached away from the planet) for a crewed mission. During the spacewalk, Isaacman was the first to climb his way outside of the Dragon spacecraft. He carried out a series of mobility tests of SpaceX’s brand new spacesuits, designed especially for the occasion, before stepping back into the crew cabin. Isaacman was followed by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, who conducted her own series of tests while outside of the hatch. The four astronauts stayed in orbit for five days, during which they conducted over 30 research studies and experiments.

As far as private missions go, Polaris Dawn certainly set itself apart and set new standards for space tourists. President-elect Donald Trump tapped Isaacman to lead NASA as the space agency’s new administrator, so he might not have time for space tourism over the next few years.

To the Moon

In February, Texas-based Intuitive Machines became the first private company to land on the Moon. The Odysseus lander delivered 12 payloads near the Malapert A crater in the Moon’s south pole region following an eight-day journey through space.

Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander touched down on the Moon on February 22, 2024. Image: Intuitive Machines

It was a remarkable accomplishment, but not altogether perfect. Odysseus stumbled on its way to the lunar surface due to a navigation issue, and ended up tipped over on its side. In its less-than-ideal position, Odysseus could only receive sunlight on its horizontal solar panel. Despite its awkward landing, Odysseus still fulfilled its main task of performing a soft landing on the Moon to deliver payloads to the lunar surface.

Landing on the Moon is not an easy feat, as Astrobotic’s shiny gold Peregrine lander proved with its failed journey to the lunar surface. Peregrine launched on January 8 with plans to land on the Moon in late February, hoping to become the first private mission to touchdown on the lunar surface. The 2,829-pound (1,283-kilogram) spacecraft powered on and even made contact through NASA’s Deep Space Network, but Peregrine’s journey to the Moon started falling apart shortly afterwards. The lander began to lose propellant at a critical rate, prompting Astrobotic to give up on any chance of its lunar lander touching down on the Moon. The Pittsburgh-based company believes a faulty valve was the cause behind Peregrine’s anomaly.

The two lunar landers were part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which is meant to help the space agency in its quest to return humans to the Moon and make it a sustainable place for a long-term human presence. It’s also meant to usher in a new era for private companies by granting them greater access to the lunar surface and the ability to deliver payloads to the Moon.

The private industry to the rescue

Commercial space endeavors weren’t the only ones to face setbacks this year, but private companies might be key to revitalizing the nation’s space agenda.

NASA’s VIPER, or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, is designed to find and study water ice on the Moon’s south pole. The $450 million mission was scheduled for launch in September 2025, but after suffering several supply chain delays, NASA decided to cancel VIPER’s lunar journey out of fear that it would disrupt other commercial payload missions to the Moon.

When it first broke the news, NASA revealed that it would disassemble the VIPER rover and use its parts for future missions. The decision, however, sparked outrage from the science community over the loss of an innocent robot. In response, NASA abruptly put together a call for organizations to take over its lunar robot and send it to the Moon. Intuitive Machines stepped up to the plate. The company is currently working with other companies, research organizations, and international partners to respond to NASA’s request for information.

In another show of commercial partnership, NASA selected Rocket Lab, the space industry’s rising star, to offer an alternative way to retrieve rock samples from the Martian surface and bring them to Earth. The company, with the ability to launch from both the U.S. and New Zealand, has been assigned with the task of developing an end-to-end mission concept for a fraction of the projected cost of NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission that can be completed several years earlier than the space agency’s current timeline.

This may not have been a perfect year for private spaceflight, but the commercial industry is working to prove itself in the rapidly changing landscape of rocket launches (and catches), private trips to the cosmos, and tricky Moon landings.