Space calendar 2024: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

April 21: The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight! 

The annual Lyrids meteor shower, derived from particles dropped by comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher), runs from April 16 to 29. It will peak in intensity at approximately 3 am EDT on Monday, April 22, but meteors should be seen while the shower’s radiant point near the bright star Vega in Lyra rises in the eastern sky late on Sunday night, April 21. The Lyrids can produce up to 15-20 meteors per hour at the peak, with occasional fireballs, but a full moon will spoil the shower this year. For best results, try to view the meteors from a safe location that has a wide open sky free of light pollution. Hide the bright moon behind a building or tree and just look up. 

April 23: April's full moon rises. The moon will officially reach its full phase at 7:49 p.m. EDT or 4:49 p.m. PDT or 23:49 GMT on Tuesday, April 23. 

April’s full moon, commonly called the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, or Fish Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Virgo or Libra. The moon won’t look pink, though – the name arises from the forest wildflowers blooming in April. The indigenous Ojibwe groups of the Great Lakes region call the April full moon Iskigamizige-giizis “the Maple Sap Boiling Moon” or Namebine-giizis, “the Sucker Moon”. For them it signifies a time to learn cleansing and healing ways. The Cree of North America call it Niskipisim, “the Goose Moon” - the time when the geese return with spring. For the Mi’kmaw people of Eastern Canada, this is Penatmuiku’s, “the Birds Laying Eggs Time Moon”. The Cherokee call it Kawonuhi, “the Flower Moon”, when the plants bloom. Full moons always rise in the east as the sun sets, and set in the west at sunrise. 

NET April 24: Rocket Lab will launch an electron rocket from its New Zealand launch site during a two-week launch window beginning April 24. 

From the Rocket Lab website: "The ‘Beginning Of The Swarm’ mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a 14-day launch window that opens on April 24th. Electron will carry two satellites for two separate customers: NEONSAT-1, an Earth observation satellite for the Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC) at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)."

May 6: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed flight, with NASA astronauts and former Navy test pilots, commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams. 

The Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and last about a week. The short mission to the ISS aims to test out all major systems with astronauts on board. CFT follows two uncrewed flights by Starliner: A 2019 flight that did not reach the ISS as planned, and a 2022 attempt (following numerous changes to Starliner) that reached the ISS and met all other major flight objectives.

May 5: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower 2024 is active between April 15 and May 27 and peaks on the night of May 4 and predawn hours of May 5.

The chunks of space debris that create the Eta Aquarids come from a celestial icon: Halley's Comet. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is categorized as a strong shower; it is best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere or close to the equator, although folks in some northern latitudes can also observe them.

May 23: May's full moon rises. The moon will officially reach its full phase at 9:53 a.m. EDT (13:53 GMT) on Tuesday, May 23. 

The monthly full moons all receive specific monikers many of which come from Native American sources, according to Farmer's Almanac. The May full moon's title the Flower Moon relates to flowers spring forth across North America during the month of May.