During the last week of April, the space industry witnessed a series of significant events, including SpaceX’s milestone achievement of landing its 300th booster. The week started with the successful landing of a Falcon 9 booster on the Group 6-53 mission, marking a remarkable feat for SpaceX.

Among the planned launches for the week were two Starlink missions and another Falcon 9 flight carrying customer satellites. The fifth Electron launch of the year by Rocket Lab featured two demonstration missions, including a test of a novel solar sail developed by NASA.

On Thursday, China’s Shenzhou 18 mission sent three taikonauts to the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station, marking the 13th crewed mission of the Chinese space program. The week also saw Falcon 9 potentially set to repeat its record of 13 flights in a month, with booster B1060 making its 20th and final flight on the upcoming Galileo mission.

SpaceX’s schedule for the week underwent changes, with the Starlink Group 6-54 mission becoming the company’s final launch, representing the 13th flight of booster B1076 and the 81st orbital launch of the year. This year has seen a significant increase in orbital launches compared to the same period last year, largely due to SpaceX’s high launch cadence.

Looking back, 13 years ago this week, Shuttle Endeavour was preparing for its final mission (STS-134) before a malfunction delayed the launch. Additionally, it has been over a year since Starship’s maiden flight in April 2023 and a decade since SpaceX achieved the first successful propulsive ocean touchdown of a liquid rocket engine orbital booster.

The space industry continues to witness remarkable achievements and advancements, with companies like SpaceX pushing the boundaries of space exploration and technology. As the industry evolves, the coming weeks are sure to bring more exciting developments and milestones in space exploration.