Space calendar 2024: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!
Keep up to date with the latest space events with our 2024 space calendar!
2024 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 2024 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, Supercluster and others.
Related: Wondering what happened today in space history? Check out our "On This Day in Space" video!
October
October 8: The Draconid meteor shower 2024 is active between Oct. 6 and Oct. 10 and will peak around Oct. 8. Viewing conditions for the Draconids are favorable this year as although the moon will be 27% illuminated during the time of the peak, it will set about 9 p.m. local time, allowing for a night of meteor hunting in a moonless sky. The Draconids are caused by Earth passing through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner as it hurtles through the solar system, passing Earth once every 6.6 years, according to NASA Science.
NET September: Upon the arrival of Crew-9 to the space station, Crew-8 will begin preparations to return to Earth. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeannette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin arrived to the ISS in March, and will wrap-up their rotation aboard the orbiting lab. A specific date and landing location has not yet been announced.
October: SpaceX will launch NASA's Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa on a Falcon Heavy rocket, from Launch Complex 39-A, at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. Europa is one of the most promising places in the solar system to hunt for extraterrestrial life. Several missions have gathered evidence that Europa contains a huge ocean in its interior, beneath a shell of ice estimated to be between 2 to 20 miles (3 to 30 kilometers) thick according to NASA. Europa Clipper will reach Jupiter on April 11, 2030, when it will enter a long, looping orbit around the gas giant.
Read more: NASA's Europa Clipper on track for Oct. 10 launch to Jupiter's icy moon despite radiation worries
October 14-18: The 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) will see the arrival in Milan of over 8,000 experts from industry, research and the institutions and place Italy at the heart of the international debate on the use of Space to support sustainability.
October 17, at 7:26 a.m. EDT (11:26 GMT): With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, also other animals that have come out to glean and can be caught for a Thanksgiving banquet after the harvest.
October 20-21: The Orionid meteor shower is active between Sept. 26 to Nov. 22 and will peak on Oct. 20-21 between midnight and dawn, with clear-sky rates of about 20 meteors per hour can be expected. Viewing conditions for the Orionids are not good this year as the moon will be 79% illuminated at the time of the peak. Sometimes the Orionid meteor shower produces spectacular displays of up to 80 meteors an hour, but in recent years it has produced more modest displays of about 20 or 30 visible meteors per hour. The Orionid meteor shower is produced when Earth passes through the debris or ice and dust left behind from Comet 1P/Halley, more commonly known as Halley's Comet.
Read more: Orionid meteor shower 2024: When, where & how to see it
November
NET November: After a successful test flight in June, where SpaceX managed to soft land both Starship and its Super Heavy booster in the ocean, the company is targeting sometime in the next few weeks for the megarocket's next launch. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has stated IFT-5 will attempt to catch Starships first stage booster using the launch tower's "chopstick" arms, a first for the rocket as its development evolves toward reusability.
Related: SpaceX's Starship won't be licensed to fly again until late November, FAA says
November: Blue Origin will launch its New Glenn rocket from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket stands about 322 feet (98 meters) tall and can send 50 tons (45 metric tons) to low Earth orbit, and will be Blue Origin's first orbital rocket. The company is now in the final stretch of preparations for the upcoming launch. New Glenn will carry the company's new Blue Ring spacecraft platform on a National Security Space Launch certification flight.
Related: Blue Origin fires up 2nd stage of huge New Glenn rocket ahead of debut launch (video)
December
December 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower occurs between Nov.19 to Dec. 24 and this year will peak on the nights of Dec.13 and Dec. 14. The shower can produce 130 to 140 meteors per hour on a clear sky. Year after year, the Geminids are the strongest meteor shower in terms of rates, with well over 100 possibly appearing per hour.
Read more: Meteor showers 2024: When is the next one?
December 15, 4:02 a.m. EST (0902 GMT): December's full moon, called the Cold Moon, falls on Dec. 15 and will be situated amidst the season's brightest constellations as it says goodbye to 2024.
December 21: Winter arrives to the Northern Hemisphere December 21, marking the shortest day of the year. Earth's axis will be titled the farthest away from the sun. In the lead-up to the Winter Solstice, the days become shorter and shorter, then on the evening of the solstice — in the Northern Hemisphere occurs annually on the 21st or 22nd of December — winter begins, according to a NASA resource. From then onwards the days become increasingly long leading up to the Summer Solstice, or the June Solstice, and the longest day of the year.
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Christmom3
May you please post a link to the 2020 space launch calendar? Thanks so muchAdmin 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 -
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 -
EdnRno first time at your site - Great!Reply
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. " -
rel Need clarification of time zones....Reply
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. -
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
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.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! -
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. -
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?Reply
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! -
Marin Tomuta
I am at 33.8°N 118°W. Thats why flowers bloomed so early.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!
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. 🙏 -
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.