NASA delays Dragonfly launch by a year - SpaceNews

25 statement, NASA said the Dragonfly mission, which had been scheduled to launch in 2026, will instead launch in 2027.

The change in launch date will not otherwise affect the design of the mission or the science it will perform.

In the statement, NASA said the decision to push back the launch a year “is based on factors external to the Dragonfly project team, including COVID-19’s impact on the Planetary Science Division’s budget.” The agency didn’t state what that delay would do to spending for the mission in fiscal year 2021, for which NASA originally requested $95.8 million, or the overall mission cost, which is capped under the New Frontiers program at $850 million, not including launch and operations.

When NASA selected the mission, it decided to shift the launch from its proposed date of 2025 to 2026 in order to give the mission more time to address technical issues.