3 must-see rocket launches blasting off in 2022

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from pad 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The mission will send a Mars rover to the Red Planet to search for signs of life, explore the planet's geology and much more. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Decades of research, development and construction culminated on Dec. 25, 2021, when the James Webb Space Telescope blasted off into the depths of space during one of the most highly anticipated rocket launches of the entire year. The launch was viewed by people all around the globe, but even scientists cannot imagine what the $10 billion observatory will reveal about the origins of our universe.

The achievement was just one of 133 successful orbital rocket launches in 2021, a new record in human history, according to Ars Techania. The previous record stood at 125 successful launches set in 1976.

The new year has some big shoes to fill following a banner year in spaceflight, but even if the sheer number of launches in 2022 falls short of the 2021 record, there will still be plenty of exciting rocket launches to look forward to throughout the year.

Here are the three biggest launches to look for in 2022:

1. Artemis I
Projected launch date: Spring 2022

NASA's newest rocket, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), will finally make its debut in 2022 after years of delays and technical hurdles.

The inaugural launch of SLS will kick off NASA's Artemis program which has the goal of sending humans to the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972. NASA plans not only to return to the moon, but to have the first woman and the first person of color walk on the lunar surface.

The uncrewed Artemis I mission is currently set for March or April of this year, according to SPACE.com, and it will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

An artist concept showing NASA's Space Launch System shortly after launch. (NASA/MSFC)

The rocket looks similar to the Saturn V rocket that was used during the Apollo program integrated with some technology used throughout the Space Shuttle program.

The SLS rocket is about as tall as the mighty Saturn V with the Orion spacecraft perched atop. This capsule is larger than the one used during the Apollo program but will have a similar function, eventually returning to Earth by splashing down in the ocean.

Additionally, the SLS will use RS-25 engines, the same engines used on the space shuttles. The rocket will get some extra thrust with help from two solid rocket boosters, similar to those used throughout the Space Shuttle program.

The first mission is projected to last around three weeks as the Orion spacecraft will voyage around the moon before returning to Earth.

"The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond," NASA said.

If successful, the Artemis II mission will carry a crew around the moon in 2023 or 2024, followed by a mission that will land humans on the moon.

2. Vulcan
Projected launch date: Mid-2022

The age of the mighty Atlas V rocket is coming to an end with the most reliable rocket in spaceflight history set to retire this decade. Operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), the Atlas V has a 100% success rate with launches spanning nearly two decades.

ULA's upcoming rocket, Vulcan, will not just replace the Atlas V, but also the company's Delta IV and Delta IV Heavy, which have launched high-priority missions for the U.S. Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office.

The Vulcan will have "higher performance and greater affordability while continuing to deliver our unmatched reliability and precision," the company explained on its website.

The company performed several tank tests on the launch pad in Florida near the end of 2021 as it prepared for the first test flight of the rocket.

The first stage of the Vulcan will not be fully recovered like SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, but ULA is building its new rocket with reusability in mind.

The engines are the most expensive parts of the rocket, and the company has plans to recover the engines after each flight in an effort to reduce the cost of access to space.

A specific date has not been announced for Vulcan's first flight, but it is likely around the middle or latter part of 2022, according to SpaceFlightNow. One factor that could postpone the lunch is the business end of the rocket. ULA is still awaiting the arrival of the rocket's new BE-4 engines, which are being manufactured by the spaceflight company Blue Origin. If the delivery of these new engines is delayed, it could cause the debut of the Vulcan to slip into 2023.

3. Starship
Projected launch date: Early 2022

The biggest rocket launch of 2022, literally, might not take place in Florida, but along the coast of Texas.

Most SpaceX rockets start their journey to space from Florida's east coast, but in recent years, the company has been building up its own launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas. This is where SpaceX has been constructing its next-generation spacecraft.

The Starship spacecraft and super-heavy booster is the company's latest ambition, a behemoth of a rocket that stands nearly 400 feet tall and 30 feet wide. For comparison, the Saturn V rocket that launched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon stood at 363 feet tall and was 33 feet wide.

"SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket (collectively referred to as Starship) represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond," SpaceX said on its website.

The SpaceX Starship stacked on top of a super heavy booster in 2021. The first orbital test flight is slated for 2022. (SpaceX)

SpaceX has stacked the Starship on top of its booster at its launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, but a launch date has yet to be announced. However, it is anticipated to make its maiden flight during the first half of 2022.

In 2021, SpaceX was awarded a contract by NASA to use its Starship as a lunar lander in the Artemis program. According to NASA, moon-bound astronauts will launch in the Orion capsule on the SLS, transfer to the SpaceX human landing system to descend to the lunar surface, depart the moon in the Starship, and then return to the Orion capsule for the trip back to Earth.

This is an illustration provided by SpaceX shows the SpaceX Starship human lander design that will carry the first NASA astronauts to the surface of the moon under the Artemis program. (SpaceX/NASA via AP)

Starship will also have the capability to launch massive payloads into orbit around the Earth unlike any rocket before it, and potentially into the depths of the solar system.

While the spaceflight community awaits the debut of SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy flight, the company will conduct many other launches, including a mission with its Falcon Heavy rocket in the spring of 2022.

The Falcon Heavy consists of three Falcon 9 boosters capable of launching heavier satellites into orbit around the Earth. The launch will be followed up by the company attempting to recover all three boosters with controlled landings.

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ULA has multiple high-profile launches in 2022 in addition to the debut of its Vulcan rocket. In May, one of its Atlas V rockets is scheduled to launch Boeing's Starliner, an uncrewed test flight that, if successful, will provide NASA with another way to launch astronauts into space.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, stands on Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft ready for another attempt at an unpiloted test flight to the International Space Station, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

March 1 marks the start of meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and meteorologists plan to spend the start of the new season watching the launch of a new weather satellite.

GOES-T is the latest of the new generation of weather satellites and will join GOES-16 and GOES-17 in space. The new satellite is slated to replace GOES-17, which has encountered some issues since its launch in 2018.

For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.