March 21 in Universe History: Space Missions, Satellites and Exploration
March 21, 2026
2001
On 21 March 2001, Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy after STS-102, completing the first Expedition crew rotation for the International Space Station and returning Expedition 1 to Earth. The mission also delivered and later returned the Leonardo multipurpose logistics module with supplies and racks, advancing early station assembly, joint operations, and orbital logistics procedures.
2018
On 21 March 2018, Soyuz MS-08 lifted off from Baikonur carrying Oleg Artemyev and NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold on a two-day flight to the International Space Station, sustaining uninterrupted human orbital residency. The launch began their Expedition 55/56 increment and set up docking and hatch operations planned for March 23.
2024
On 21 March 2024, SpaceX CRS-30 lifted off carrying NASA’s BurstCube CubeSat. After later release from the International Space Station, BurstCube was designed to detect and localize short gamma-ray bursts and send rapid alerts to Earth, enabling follow-up by other observatories and multimessenger campaigns focused on neutron-star mergers.
2024
On 21 March 2024, CRS-30’s Dragon cargo spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 toward the International Space Station, starting phasing burns for a planned docking and carrying science, supplies, and hardware. The flight showed how routine resupply missions sustain experiments, crew provisions, and ongoing maintenance for the orbiting laboratory.
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Baikonur
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BurstCube
Cape Canaveral
Cassini
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Europe’s Spaceport
Expedition 1
Expedition 55
Expedition 56
Falcon 9
French Guiana
High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager
Imaging Science Subsystem
Ingenuity
International Launch Services
JPL
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L4 Lagrange point
Leonardo
Marina Vasilevskaya
Mars 1
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Mercury
MESSENGER
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NASA Planetary Data System
National Reconnaissance Office
NROL-123
Oleg Artemyev
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Ranger 9
Ricky Arnold
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Saturn
Soyuz Flight ST28
Soyuz MS-08
SpaceX
SPICE
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Titan
Tracy Dyson
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Asia
Europe
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Earth
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Mars
Moon
Sun
Space Shuttle Discovery
STS-102