Civil Space Flight

Mission Area

Civil Space Flight

From the Sun to Pluto and Beyond

Johns Hopkins APL’s Civil Space Flight Mission Area delivers critical spaceflight hardware to NASA, international partners, and other U.S. government civilian agencies. We are responsible for all APL civil space flight programs in development and operations and is APL’s primary civil space sponsor interface. We pride ourselves on delivering first-of-their-kind, one-of-a-kind spaceflight hardware within cost and schedule constraints.

Since the dawn of the Space Age, APL has pushed the frontiers of space science. We captured the first picture of Earth from space, invented navigation by satellite, dispatched spacecraft across the solar system that are exploring regions around our Sun to Pluto and beyond, and successfully conducted the world’s first planetary defense test mission.

Our work includes design, fabrication, and operation of premier space science instruments, novel space systems, and advanced space technology.

Leadership

Highlights

  • EZIE satellites

    Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE)

    EZIE will determine the structure and evolution of Earth’s electrojets — electric currents flowing in Earth’s ionosphere that are central to the electrical circuit that couples the planet’s magnetosphere to its atmosphere.
    Learn more about Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE)
  • Artist's rendering of Dragonfly

    Dragonfly

    Dragonfly is a NASA New Frontiers mission that will send a rotorcraft lander to explore the prebiotic chemistry and habitability of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
    Learn more about Dragonfly
  • Artist's rendering of IMAP spacecraft

    Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)

    Set to launch in 2025, NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission will help researchers better understand what happens at the boundary of the heliosphere, where the Sun’s protective magnetic field ends.
    Learn more about Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP)

Recent News