2. SpaceX catches Super Heavy for the first time SpaceX made incredible progress in its Starship test program, with the company launching the massive rocket four times in 2024, bringing the total launches to six overall. During the fifth flight in October, the Super Heavy booster flew back to the launch site and was “caught” by two large arms jutting out from the launch tower. The space company nailed booster reuse with its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, with the company successfully recovering 367 boosters to date. These boosters touch down on land or on massive ships at sea using four legs that are autonomously deployed right before touchdown. But using a similar technique to recover the Super Heavy is impractical for a number of reasons — chiefly its massive size — which led SpaceX engineers to develop the booster catch method. Image Credits:SpaceX During the most recent launch test in November, SpaceX decided to scrub a second catch attempt, so there is clearly still work to do to hit the kind of launch and recovery cadence the company is aiming for. But the catch marked a historic day in spaceflight — not to mention, arguably one of the most incredible engineering feats of the century so far. 3. Polaris Dawn crew performs first private spacewalk Jared Isaacman has been in the news recently due to his nomination to the role of NASA administrator by incoming president Donald Trump. But the billionaire founder of payment processing company Shift4 Payments also made headlines this year when he led the Polaris Dawn mission and performed the first commercial spacewalk. Spacewalks are incredibly dangerous: In leaving their vehicle, astronauts expose themselves to risks like micrometeoroids and radiation, not to mention having to rely on the integrity of their spacesuits to provide essentials like oxygen and cooling. Yet the crew of Polaris Dawn, along with their mission partners SpaceX, took on exactly these challenges with the mission. Two of the four crew members, Isaacman and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis, took turns emerging from the top of their vehicle, a specially equipped Dragon, for about 10 minutes each. The pair performed a series of tests on the SpaceX-made spacesuits while connected to the vehicle via umbilical cord. Image Credits:Polaris Dawn