With 2016 behind us, we take the time to not only reflect on what we’ve accomplished, but also take a look to what’s ahead for the next year.

Here are a few things to look forward to in 2017…

New Telescope in Town

This year marked big progress on our James Webb Space Telescope and there are still a number of large milestones before the telescope is launched in 2018. Once launched, JWST will be the premier observatory of the next decade. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own solar system.

In 2017, the telescope will be shipped to our Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas where end-to-end optical testing in a simulated cryo-temperature and vacuum space environment will occur.

Epic Final Year at Saturn

After more than 12 years studying Saturn, its rings and moons, our Cassini spacecraft is in its final year of its epic voyage. The conclusion of the historic scientific odyssey is planned for September 2017, but not before the spacecraft completes a daring two-part endgame.

Cassini’s final phase – called the Grand Finale – begins in earnest in April 2017. During this time, Cassini will make the closest-ever observations of Saturn, mapping the planet’s magnetic and gravity fields with exquisite precision and returning ultra-close views of the atmosphere.

Delivering Supplies to Space

Our ambitious commercial space program has enabled a successful partnership with two American companies to resupply the International Space Station.

The companies are successfully resupplying the space station, and more missions to deliver scientific investigations and cargo are planned for 2017.

Launching Two Earth Missions

New Earth science missions got underway in 2016 to enable studies that will unravel the complexities of our planet from the highest reaches of Earth’s atmosphere to its core. In 2017, we will launch two Earth-observing instruments to the International Space Station as part of our ongoing use of the orbiting space laboratory to study our changing planet.

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) will give us a new way to monitor Earth’s protective ozone layer and document its ongoing recovery. The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) will measure both in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning over much of the planet, data that will help improve our understanding of lightning’s connections to weather and related phenomena.

Commercial Crew

Our Commercial Crew Program is working with American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

In 2017, astronauts will train for commercial flights and launch pad 39A will be completed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Work is wrapping up on a new structure built specifically for the needs of astronauts climbing into Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner as it stands atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. In 2017, the 200-foot-tall Crew Access Tower and Crew Access Arm will see installation and testing of emergency evacuation systems.

SpaceX has also overhauled the historic Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy and built new support structures for the company’s line of Falcon rockets. The Crew Access Arm, currently under construction, will be connected in mid-2017 to provide a bridge from the fixed service structure to the Crew Dragon spacecraft so astronauts can board before launch

Orion Progress

Our Orion spacecraft is being built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.

In 2017, computers in the Orion crew module for the spacecraft’s first mission with our Space Launch System rocket will be turned on for the first time to verify the spacecraft can route power and send commands. While the Orion outfitting and assembly process for the first mission of the spacecraft atop the SLS rocket continues in 2017, construction will also begin on the vehicle for the first Orion flight with astronauts that will fly as early as 2021.

Cutting Edge Technology

Our Space Technology office is dedicated to pushing the technological envelope, taking on challenges not only to further space agency missions near Earth, but also to sustain future deep space exploration activities.

In 2016, the office focused on and made significant progress in advancing technologies and capabilities that will continue into 2017.

Advances in Aeronautics

Our rich aeronautical research heritage added to its history of technical innovation in 2016 with advancements that will help make airplanes use less fuel, release fewer emissions and fly more quietly…and that includes working to return supersonic flight to the commercial marketplace.

We took steps in 2016 to resume designing, building and flying several experimental aircraft, or X-planes, as a means to demonstrate key green technologies and help accelerate their use by industry. In 2017, this research will continue to grow and develop.

Thanks for joining us in 2016, we look forward to sharing our progress with you in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

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