Space calendar 2026: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!
Keep up to date with the latest space events with our 2026 space calendar!
Note: Launch dates are subject to change. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on launch dates you see here.
January

January 14, 1:01 p.m. EST (1801 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provides low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.
Related:
On This Day in Space!
The brightest planets in December's night sky: How to see them (and when)
Night sky, December 2025: What you can see tonight
Is there a rocket launch today?

January 14, 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT): Astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission for NASA will undock from the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour. The four crew members are ending their six-month rotation aboard the ISS short due to a undisclosed medical situation.
-

January 15, 3:40 a.m. EST (0740 GMT): For the first time ever, astronauts will depart the International Space Station early due to a medical issue. NASA decided to bring the four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission home from the International Space Station (ISS) ahead of schedule due to a medical issue experienced by a crewmember in orbit.
-

January 15, 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT): The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch an unknown payload on a Long March 3B/E rocket. The mission will liftoff from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in China.

January 15, 1:30 p.m. ET (1830 GMT): Private Chinese space launch company Galactic Energy is expected to launch an unknown payload on a Ceres 1 rocket. The mission will liftoff from the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, in China.

January 16, 7:00 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT, Jan. 17): The second flight of the first orbital rocket to launch from Europe will launch Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport, in Norway. The mission will launch several cubesats from the European Space Agency's "Boost!" program.

January 16, 11:05 p.m. EST (0405 GMT, Jan. 17): Private Chinese space launch company Galactic Energy is expected to launch a demonstration flight of its new Ceres 2 rocket. The mission will liftoff from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in China.

January 17: NASA will roll the Artemis 2 Space Launch System rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, to Launch Complex-39B. The four-mile journey to the pad will kickoff the first launch campaign of Artemis 2, and will include comprehensive system checks and a wet dress rehearsal of the rocket ahead of a launch attempt no earlier than Feb. 5.

January 18, 5:04 p.m. EST (2204 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provides low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.

January 19, 2:48 a.m. EDT (0748 GMT): The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch an unknown payload on a Long March 12 rocket. The mission will liftoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, China (WSLC), in China.

January 20, 1:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT): The China Rocket Co. Ltd. is expected to launch an unknown payload into low-Earth orbit. The mission will liftoff on a Smart Dragon-3 rocket from a launch complex at sea.

January 21, 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT): Blue Origin will launch a New Shepard rocket on the NS-38 mission.

January 26, 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT): The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch an unknown payload on a Long March 7A rocket. The mission will liftoff from Launch Area-201 (LA-201) at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center (WSLC), in China. The Long March 7A is a 197-foot-tall (60 meters) variant of the Long March 7 rocket and is designed to send spacecraft into GTO. It is also a nontoxic alternative to the workhorse Long March 3B.

NET January: Rocket Lab will launch an Electron rocket from the company's Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. The Bridging The Swarm mission will launch NeonSat-1A, an Earth observation satellite from the Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

NET January: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch a GPS satellite, known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) rocket. The mission will liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

NET January: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch the first uncrewed test flight of the Gaganyaan spacecraft. The uncrewed demonstration will test crew and service modules, reentry, parachute deployment and a safe splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.
-
India delays its 1st-ever Gaganyaan astronaut launch to 2026
February

February 2: ULA will launch a classified payload on behalf of the U.S. Space Force. The mission will liftoff on a Vulcan Centaur rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSF), in Florida.

February 6, 9:41 p.m. EST (0241 GMT, Feb. 7): NASA's Artemis 2 mission is expected to launch no earlier than Feb. 5, during a window open several days each month through April 2026. Artemis 2 will send three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut around the moon for the humanity's first lunar excursion in more than 50 years. The mission will launch the crew aboard an Orion spacecraft on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, on a free-return trajectory lunar flyby to the moon and back to Earth.
-
NASA commander Reid Wiseman, NASA pilot Victor Glover, NASA mission specialist Christina Koch and CSA mission specialist Jeremy Hansen will fly around the moon on a roughly 10-day-long mission.

mid-February: Crew-12 is the 12th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space launch to the space station through NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

NET February: NASA astronauts Mike Finke and Zena Cardman are scheduled to begin the station's 278th spacewalk, U.S. EVA 94 early Jan. 8. The duo will spend about 6.5 hours outside the International Space Station (ISS) to prepare the station's 2A power channel for the upcoming attachment of additional International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSAs). The two will also collect surface sample swabs to look for microbes on the exterior of various ISS modules.

NET February: Two NASA astronauts will conduct the station's 279th spacewalk, U.S. EVA 95, early Jan. 15. The duo will spend about 6.5 hours outside the International Space Station (ISS) to replace a high-definition camera, install a new navigational aid for visiting spacecraft, as well as other upgrades.

NET February 12: The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, a Moscow-based space manufacturer, will launch a Proton-M rocket with the Elektro-L No.5 Earth-imaging satellite. Liftoff will occur from launch complex 81/24 (81P) at Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

NET December: NordSpace will launch the first test flight of its suborbital Taiga rocket. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex-02 (SLC-02) at the company's Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX), in Newfoundland, Canada. The mission, "Getting Screeched In", will launch Taiga on a low-altitude flight to test its primary systems.

NET December: The Chinese company iSpace is expected to launch an unknown payload aboard a solid propellant-fueled Hyperbola-1 rocket.
March

NET 2026: Northrup Grumman will launch the EWS OD-1 payload for the United States Space Force. The Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) Operational Demonstration-1 (OD-1) is a weather satellite made by General Atomics launching into low-Earth obit (LEO) on a Minotaur IV rocket from Space Launch Complex-8 (SLC-8) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), in California.

Q1 2026: Rocket Lab will launch an Electron rocket with NASA's Aspera smallsat satellite. Aspera will examine hot gas in the space between galaxies, called the intergalactic medium. The mission will study the inflow and outflow of gas from galaxies, a process thought to contribute to star formation.

NET 2026: NordSpace will launch the second test flight of its suborbital Taiga rocket. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex-02 (SLC-02) at the company's Atlantic Spaceport Complex, in Newfoundland, Canada.

NET 2026: United Launch Alliance (ULA) will launch Sierra Space's Dream Chaser space plane aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida. the first-ever winged commercial spaceplane, to the International Space Station.
-
Read more: ULA delays Dream Chaser space plane launch to certify Vulcan Centaur rocket for US military missions

NET May 2026: California-based startup Vast Space plans to loft its Haven-1 outpost aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than May 2026. Haven-1 — which will eventually be incorporated as a module into a larger space station, and will be followed in quick succession by Vast-1, a four-person jaunt to the new station that could last up to 30 days. Vast-1 will also launch atop a Falcon 9, and its astronauts will ride on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
-
Read more: SpaceX and Vast want ideas for science experiments on Dragon spacecraft and Haven-1 space station
Past Events
Browse past events >
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

