Space calendar 2023: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

By Daisy Dobrijevic
Contributions from
Elizabeth Howell
 last updated

Keep up to date with the latest space events with our 2023 space calendar!

Graphic illustration with "space calendar" in large blue neon letters and 2023 below it in smaller white letters. Below the title are four neon images depicting a meteor or comet, a telescope, a rocket launch and an astronaut's helmet. There is a starry background to the entire image.
Keep up to date with the latest space events with our space calendar. (Image credit: Neon images: Zeybart via Getty Images. Image assembled with Canva by Daisy Dobrijevic)
Jump to:

2023 is a busy year for spaceflight and exploration enthusiasts with countless launches, mission milestones and skywatching events to look forward to.

With so much going on, it's hard to keep track of everything. Never fear — keep up with the latest events in our 2023 space calendar. You can also Find out what's up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide and skywatching forecast. 

Please note: Launch dates are subject to change and will be updated throughout the year as firmer dates arise. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on a date you see here. Launch dates are collected from NASA events, ESA news, Roscosmos space launch schedule, Spaceflight Now launch schedule, Everyday Astronaut and others.

Related: Wondering what happened today in space history? Check out our "On This Day in Space" video!

September

Sept. 29: The full moon of September, known as the Harvest Moon, will occur at 5:58 a.m. EDT (1058 GMT).

October

Oct: 5: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch NASA's Psyche asteroid mission. The spacecraft will travel to the asteroid Psyche and enter orbit in 2029. The launch is scheduled for 10:38 a.m. EDT (1438 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Oct. 8: The Draconid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Oct. 6 and Oct. 10.

Oct. 14: The new moon will arrive at 1:55 p.m. EDT (1855 GMT).

Oct. 14: An annular solar eclipse will cross North, Central and South America today! 

Related: Solar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them

Oct. 20: The Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Sept. 26 and Nov. 22. 

Oct. 28: The full moon of October, known as the Hunter's Moon, will occur at 4:24 p.m. EDT (2124 GMT).

Oct. 28: A partial lunar eclipse will occur today! Some parts of the partial lunar eclipse should be visible over Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, North/East South America, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Arctic and Antarctica.

Related: Lunar eclipses 2023: When, where & how to see them

October: SpaceX is planning to launch the second test flight of its Starship rocket. The full launch vehicle was stacked last month, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, "Starship is ready to launch, awaiting FAA license approval." FAA responses later indicated October as a more likely timeframe for Starship's next flight. SpaceX unstacked the rocket in mid September.

November

Nov. 4: The Southern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Sept. 28 and Dec. 2. 

Nov. 9: At 5 a.m. local time, make sure to look toward the east-northeast sky to see the most spectacular pairing of the moon and Venus of 2023. 

Nov. 11: The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Oct. 13 and Dec. 2. 

Nov. 13: The new moon will arrive at 4:27 a.m. EST (0927 GMT).

Nov. 17: The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Nov. 3 and Dec. 2.

Nov. 27: The full moon of November, known as the Beaver Moon, will arrive at 4:16 a.m. EST (0916 GMT)

December

Dec. 12: The new moon will arrive at 6:32 p.m. EST (2332 GMT).

Dec. 14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active between Dec. 4 and Dec. 17.

Dec 21: Today is the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice for the Southern Hemisphere.

Dec: 21: The Ursid meteor shower peaks tonight! The shower is active from Dec. 13 to Dec. 24.

Dec. 26: The full moon of December, known as the Cold Moon, will occur at 7:33 p.m. EST (0033 GMT on Dec. 27). 

More in 2023

Early 2023: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. 

2nd Quarter: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the USSF 51 mission for the U.S. Space Force. 

3rd Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the IM-1 mission with the Nova-C lander built and owned by Intuitive Machines from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  

TBD: India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch its first commercial mission with four Earth observation satellites for BlackSky Global. It will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India. 

TBD: A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its inaugural flight with the Peregrine commercial lunar lander for Astrobotic. It will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

TBD: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third pair of O3b mPOWER broadband for SES of Luxembourg from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. 

TBD: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 18 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the U.S. military's Space Development Agency from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. 

TBD: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first two WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed flight. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Mike Fincke, along with an unidentified third crew member, will fly on the mission. The Crew Test Flight to the International Space Station will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. 

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcomor Facebook

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Daisy Dobrijevic
Daisy Dobrijevic
Senior Reference Writer

Daisy Dobrijevic joined Space.com in February 2022 having previously worked for our sister publication All About Space magazine as a staff writer. Before joining us, Daisy completed an editorial internship with the BBC Sky at Night Magazine and worked at the National Space Centre in Leicester, U.K., where she enjoyed communicating space science to the public. In 2021, Daisy completed a PhD in plant physiology and also holds a Master's in Environmental Science, she is currently based in Nottingham, U.K.

With contributions from
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Christmom3
    Admin said:
    Here's a LhZJPyDGPmMNxwDMmG4D8Se to SpaceX's launch schedule, other rocket missions, astronomical events of the next year, as well as milestones for spacecraft already in travel.

    Space Launch Calendar 2019: Sky Events, Missions & More : Read more
    May you please post a link to the 2020 space launch calendar? Thanks so much
    Reply
  • Wolfshadw
    Christmom3 said:
    May you please post a link to the 2020 space launch calendar? Thanks so much

    The article was updated on 7-31-20 to list upcoming events through the end of 2020.

    -Wolf sends
    Reply
  • EdnRno
    first time at your site - Great!
    You might check your Jan 2 comment "perihelion" - pretty sure it's "closest" to the sun. My mnemonic was always "pretty close"/ counterintuitive for during our "winter" . Thanks.

    "Jan. 2: Happy perihelion day! Earth is farthest from the sun today. "
    Reply
  • rel
    Need clarification of time zones....
    In the calendar on Jan 6 states "10:10 a.m. EST (1410 GMT)."
    10:10am EST is NOT 1410GMT! This needs to be corrected

    Likewise Jan 11th 9:25 a.m. EST (1325 GMT) also needs to be corrected.
    Reply
  • badhack
    Is this 2021 calendar available as a google calendar (or even a cal file)? NYTimes has one but this one is so much more complete. That would be super cool!
    Reply
  • yohandz007
    badhack said:
    Is this 2021 calendar available as a google calendar (or even a cal file)? NYTimes has one but this one is so much more complete. That would be super cool!
    https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=N2J0bXBwZ205czFvN25nb2Y4bzh1OW9zZmNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQSince there is no calendar, I made one for my self on Google Calendar. You can use it too. I have not completed it yet, but I will in a few days.
    Reply
  • badhack
    yohandz007 said:
    https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=N2J0bXBwZ205czFvN25nb2Y4bzh1OW9zZmNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQSince there is no calendar, I made one for my self on Google Calendar. You can use it too. I have not completed it yet, but I will in a few days.

    Awesome thank you very much yohandz007. btw your calendar is not public but I sent a request.
    Reply
  • Marin Tomuta
    Equinox is the mid-day of spring ppl! Equinox is in the middle at the equator, therefore it is the middle of spring. Isn't it?
    Am I the only on who thinks the equinox is mid-Spring/mid-Autumn and not the first day of? I mean its kind of a bit of a difference. Its the 1st day of the Sun shining at 90° at the equator and soon to be in northern hemisphere.
    Otherwise how would the summer solstice, being the longest day of the year not be the middle of summer? Summer begins when daylight starts to wane? No. It begins 1.5 moons before the solstice/equinox. 1st day of spring was 03Feb. I confirmed it by noticing plants flowering!
    Reply
  • Marin Tomuta
    Marin Tomuta said:
    Equinox is the mid-day of spring ppl! Equinox is in the middle at the equator, therefore it is the middle of spring. Isn't it?
    Am I the only on who thinks the equinox is mid-Spring/mid-Autumn and not the first day of? I mean its kind of a bit of a difference. Its the 1st day of the Sun shining at 90° at the equator and soon to be in northern hemisphere.
    Otherwise how would the summer solstice, being the longest day of the year not be the middle of summer? Summer begins when daylight starts to wane? No. It begins 1.5 moons before the solstice/equinox. 1st day of spring was 03Feb. I confirmed it by noticing plants flowering!
    I am at 33.8°N 118°W. Thats why flowers bloomed so early.
    On Northern Vernal Equinox Day, if one is at the North Pole, it is the 1st day of Spring; but if one is at the equator its the middle of Summer. Wherever the dynamic equator is, there its the midSummer. So when its the Northern Summer Solstice, its midSummer at the tropic of Cancer all the way up to the North Pole. I'm thinking the July/August heatwave is just that as the climate/solar wind folds onto itself as the dynamic equator moves South, as Earth reaches Aphelion.

    So, it all depends where one is located on Earth in relation to the Sun that determines actual 1st days of seasons.
    Hardly anyone lives at the North Pole. Not even Santa, I think. Most diverse biota are located within the tropics.
    Plz, no development within the Tropics! Plz, keep it natural. Thank you. 🙏
    Reply
  • darrenwebster
    yohandz007 said:
    https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=N2J0bXBwZ205czFvN25nb2Y4bzh1OW9zZmNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQSince there is no calendar, I made one for my self on Google Calendar. You can use it too. I have not completed it yet, but I will in a few days.


    yohandz007 said:
    https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=N2J0bXBwZ205czFvN25nb2Y4bzh1OW9zZmNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQSince there is no calendar, I made one for my self on Google Calendar. You can use it too. I have not completed it yet, but I will in a few days.

    Hey, I hope you’re well. Is the calendar still available? I tried adding the calendar using the url and it says it doesn’t exist.
    Reply