LAST UPDATED Jan. 3, 2010: Thanks to all of you who are writing in with corrections to this launch forecast. Please remember to cite your source for any suggestions you make. And as always, please remember that there is no greater work of fiction than a Web site's launch schedule. These dates are often based on unofficial sources and change almost every day. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on a date you see here:

2010

February 3: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory from the Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 10:53-11:53 a.m. EST (1553-1653 GMT).

February 3: A Russian Soyuz rocket to launch the unmanned Progress 36 cargo ship from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to ferry 2.5 tons of supplies to the crew of the International Space Station.

*NET February 7: NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour to launch the STS-130 mission from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver the Tranquility connecting module and bay window-like Cupola to the International Space Station. 4:39 a.m. EST (0939 GMT).

Early February: The first Falcon 9 rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is slated to launch on its maiden test flight during a demonstration mission to blast off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST (1600-2000 GMT).

February 12: An International Launch Services Proton rocket to launch the new Intelsat 16 communications satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

February 25: A united Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket to launch GOES P (short for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite P) for partners NASA and NOAA in a space shot from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 6:28-7:18 p.m. EST (2328-0018 GMT).

February 25: An ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket to launch the Cryosat 2 Earth-watching satellite for the European Space Agency in a space shot to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

March 10: An ISC Kosmotras satellite to launch the Prisma demonstration mission for Sweden, which includes a pair of satellites (Prisma and Picard) to test rendezvous and formation flying technologies. 9:42 a.m. EST (1442 GMT).

*NET March 18: NASA’s space shuttle Discovery will blast off from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on the STS-131 mission to deliver a cargo pod packed with supplies to the International Space Station. 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT).

April 2: A Russian Soyuz rocket to launch the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft carrying new members of the Expedition 23 crew to the International Space Station in a space shot from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

April 19: A space plane prototype for the U.S. military called Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on a test flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

April 22: A United States Air Force Minotaur 4 rocket to launch the first satellite in a planned Space-Based Surveillance System in a mission to blast off from Space Launch Complex 8 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

*NET May 14: The space shuttle Atlantis will blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on STS-132 to deliver the Russian Mini-Research Module 1 to the International Space Station. The mission is expected to be the final flight of Atlantis. 2:28 p.m. EDT (1828 GMT).

May 28: A U.S. Air Force Minotaur 4 rocket to launch several payloads (STP S26 mission) from Kodiak Island in Alaska as part of the Space Test Program. They include NASA’s FASTSAT, a pair of FASTRAC satellites for the University of Texas, NASA’s O/Oreos satellite and the Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 5 satellite.

May 30: A Russian-built Soyuz rocket to launch three new crewmembers to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft blasting off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan to boost the outpost’s Expedition 24 crew.

June 30: A Russian Soyuz rocket to launch the unmanned Progress 38 cargo ship from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver new supplies to the crew of the International Space Station.

 

*NET July 29: NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour is slated to launch the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a billion-dollar experiment, as well as vital supplies and spare parts. 7:51 a.m. EDT (1151 GMT).

 

*NET September 16: The space shuttle Discovery will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on what is expected to be the final space shuttle flight in history to deliver a huge shelf of spare parts and a cargo module that has been refitted to serve as a permanent storage module on the International Space Station. 11:57 a.m. EDT (1557 GMT).

Other launches slated for 2010 without firm dates:

First Quarter: An ISC Kosmotras Dnepr rocket to blast off from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying the TanDEM-X satellite on an elevation-mapping mission for the German Aerospace Center.

February: A Russian Rockot booster to launch a pair of Gonets communications satellites from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia to join a constellation of others already in orbit. 

February: A Russian Proton rocket to launch three new satellite additions to Russia’s Glonass satellite navigation system constellation from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

March: A Eurorocket Rockot booster to launch the new Servis 2 satellite for the Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer in Japan in a space shot from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.

Second Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the company’s second such booster, to launch the first Dragon spacecraft on a 4 1/2-hour demonstration flight to blast off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Second Quarter: An International Launch Services Proton rocket to launch the OS 1 telecommunications satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

May: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket to launch from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to orbit the U.S. Air Force’s GPS 2F-1 navigation satellite to join the current constellation of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system.

 

May: A Japanese H-2A rocket to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan carrying the Akatasuki (previously known as Planet C or the Venus Climate Orbiter) spacecraft to orbit the planet Venus.

May: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket to launch on its debut flight from a brand-new launch pad at Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana to send the Hylas communications satellite into orbit for Avanti Communications of the United Kingdom.

 

Summer: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch the U.S. military’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency 1 (AEHF 1) communications satellite into orbit from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

 

October: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket to liftoff from Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying the classified NROL-32 spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

 

October: An Atlas 5 rocket managed by the United Launch Alliance to blast off from Space Launch Complex 3E at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying a classified satellite payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

 

 

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