Space calendar 2025: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

Graphic illustration with 'space calendar' in large blue neon letters and 2025 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.
(Image credit: Neon images: Zeybart via Getty Images. Image assembled with Canva by Daisy Dobrijevic)

2025 is a busy year for spaceflight and exploration with countless launches, mission milestones, industry conventions 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 2025 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!

Is there a rocket launch today?

May 2025

Human Spaceflight
an astronaut in a white spacesuit works outside a space station opposite a space capsule
Human Spaceflight
U.S. Spacewalk 93

May 1, 8:00 a.m. ET (1200): NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers will relocate a space station communications antennae and install a mounting bracket ahead of the installation of an additional set of International Space Station Rollout Solar Arrays (IROSA). McClain will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Ayers will serve as spacewalk crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. This will be the third spacewalk for McClain and the first for Ayers. U.S. spacewalk 93 will be the 275th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. The EVA is expected to last 6.5 hours.

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Read more: Watch NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore perform spacewalk outside the ISS today (video)

Rocket Launch
A white rocket topped with a payload fairing stands on the launch pad in a close-up set against a black sky.
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: Starlink 6-75

May 1, 9:51 p.m. EDT (0151 GMT, May 2): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from SLC-40, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provide low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.

Rocket Launch
A white rocket topped with a payload fairing stands on the launch pad in a close-up set against a blue sky.
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: Starlink 15-3

May 2, 2:27 p.m. ET (1827 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from SLC-4E; Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provide low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.

Rocket Launch
A white rocket topped with a payload fairing stands on the launch pad in a close-up set against a black sky.
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: Starlink 6-84

May 4, 4:48 p.m. ET (0848 GMT, April 29): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from SLC-40, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provide low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.

Rocket Launch
A white rocket topped with a payload fairing stands on the launch pad in a close-up set against a black sky.
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: Starlink 6-93

May 4, 9:14 p.m. EDT (0114 GMT, May 2): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from SLC-40, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provide low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.

Rocket Launch
a white rocket lifts off at night above a plume of fire and smoke
Rocket Launch
CASC, Long March 12: SatNet Group 04

May 5, 7:05 p.m. EDT (1105 GMT): The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch a batch of SatNet communication satellites into low-Earth orbit on a Long March 12 rocket. The mission will liftoff from Launch Complex-2 (LC-2), at the Wenchang Space Launch Center, China (WSLC), in China. The Long March 12 is a two-stage kerosene/liquid oxygen-fueled rocket capable of lifting 10 ton to low-Earth orbit.

Space Industry
An asteroid impact on New York City would be devastating, according to a new simulation.
Space Industry
IAA Planetary Defense Conference

May 5-9: The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) will hold the 2025 Planetary Defense Conference in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa

Rocket Launch
An artist's illustration of NASA's five aurora-hunting THEMIS spacecraft in Earth orbit.
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: NASA — TRACERS

NET May 11: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA's TRACERS mission, carrying a pair of synchronized spacecraft to orbit. TRACERS will study magnetic reconnection Earth’s atmosphere caused by interaction with passing solar activity, and help researchers better understand and prepare for impacts of solar activity on Earth.

Rocket Launch
blistering white flames burst from the two nozels piped on either side of the bottom of a rocket, fixed with two dark metalic engines shining through the smoke, shooting out a faint blue flame like two diamonds toward the ground.
Rocket Launch
ULA, Vulcan Centaur: USSF-106

NET June: United Launch Alliance (ULA)'s Vulcan Centaur rocket will fly its first of more than two dozen U.S. Space Force missions allocated under a national security space launch contract.  USSF-106 is expected to launch sometime in the second quarter of 2025.

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Read more: Powerful new Vulcan Centaur rocket gearing up for 1st Space Force mission

Skywatching
Astrophotographer Lisa Shislowski captured the 2020 Flower Moon as it was getting ready to set over Weston, Florida.
Skywatching
Full Flower Moon

May 12: The Full Flower Moon rises on May 12. The official moment when the full moon reaches 100% fullness will occur on May 23 at 12:56 p.m. EDT (1656 GMT), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. 

Rocket Launch
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched 104 satellites into orbit aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Feb. 14, 2017, setting a new record for the most satellites launched simultaneously on one rocket.
Rocket Launch
ISRO, PSLV-XL: EOS-09 (RISAT-1B)

May 18: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), will launch the RISAT-1B mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India, on a PSLV-XL rocket. It is the third in a series of radar imaging satellites equipped with active C-band SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), providing all-weather24-hour SAR observation. The PSLV-XL is an upgraded version of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, with more powerful, stretched boosters.

Space Industry
The late-stage phase of planet formation with protoplanets and planetismals is seen in this artist's depiction.
Space Industry
2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit

May 28-29: H2M2 will gather the top experts in Moon and Mars architecture, science, human health, innovation, policy, STEM education, and innumerable other disciplines who will provide the latest news about and generate momentum for our Moon and Mars goals.

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The objective of H2M2 is to advance the goal of a sustainable and permanent human presence on the Moon beginning in the late 2020s and on Mars no later than the 2030s.

Rocket Launch
The SpaceX Dragon capsule that will fly Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission to the International Space Station is seen arriving at the hangar at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A ahead of a planned Jan. 17, 2024 launch.
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: Axiom Space — AX-4

May 29, 1:03 p.m. ET (1703 GMT): SpaceX will launch the fourth crewed mission for Houston-based company Axiom Space. Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will be joined by Shubhanshu Shukla of India, the of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Sławosz Uznański, from Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The quartet will launch to the ISS on a mission to conduct scientific research, demonstrate technology and the continued commercialization of space. 

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Read more: Meet the crew for Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission to the ISS

Space Industry
Simulated view of a black hole in front of the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Space Industry
Contact in the Desert 2025

May 29 - June 2: Contact in the Desert has been the world’s leading event for those intrigued by UFOs, UAPs, and extraterrestrial life. Our mission is to provide a platform for open discussions, cutting-edge research, and firsthand experiences in the field of unexplained phenomena. Each year, thousands gather to connect with experts, share stories, and dive deep into the mysteries of our universe.

Rocket Launch
the silhouette of a rocket stands next to a launch tower with staircase, against a bright cloudy sky.
Rocket Launch
Gilmour Space, Eris-1: Maiden flight

NET May 30: Eris is the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit. It stands at 82 feet (25 meters) tall and can deliver a payload of up to 474 pounds (215 kilograms) to a 310-mile-altitude (500 kilometers) sun-synchronous orbit. Eris consists of three stages and uses hybrid propulsion.

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Read more: The 1st Australian rocket to launch from Australian soil could reach orbit this month

Rocket Launch
A Minotaur 4 rocket sits on its launch pedestal here Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. The Minotaur 4 will carry DARPA's hypersonic HTV-2 aircraft scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in August 2011.
Rocket Launch
Northrup Grumman, Minotaur IV: EWS OD-1

NET May: 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.

Rocket Launch
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launches the military space debris mitigation satellite Shijian-21from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Oct. 24, 2021.
Rocket Launch
CASC, Long March 3B/E: Tianwen-2

NET May: The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch the Tianwen 2 near-Earth asteroid sample return mission on a Long March 3B/E heavy-lift rocket. The mission will liftoff from Launch Complex-2 (LC-2), at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), in China. The Long March 3B/E is a medium-range rocket capable of launching payloads into a geostationary transfer orbit, and the strongest of China's CZ-3 series. The "E" variant indicates a taller payload fairing and boosters, and extended fuel tanks on the first stage.

June 2025

Rocket Launch
Rocket Lab's HASTE suborbital vehicle launches on the "HASTE a La Vista" mission for the U.S. military from Virginia on Nov. 24, 2024.
Rocket Launch
Rocket Lab, HASTE: DART AE

NET June: Rocket Lab will launch a HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) rocket from the company's Launch Complex 2, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, in Virginia. The payload, DART AE, is a 3D-printed hypersonic drone developed under the Hypersonic and High-Cadence Airborne Testing (HyCAT) program at the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

Rocket Launch
a white rocket lifts off through a greyish-blue sky
Rocket Launch
CASC, Long March 8: SSST G60 Polar Group

NET June: The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch communication satellites to low-Earth orbit, with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST). The mission will liftoff on a Long March 8 rocket from Launch Complex-1 (LC-1), at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, in China.

Skywatching
An orange and pink hued Strawberry Full Moon over Charlotte, North Carolina seen by Kevin McCarthy.
Skywatching
Full Strawberry Moon

June 11: The Full Flower Moon rises at 3:44 a.m. EDT (0844 GMT). In the Old Farmer's Almanac, the full moon of June is called a Strawberry moon, from the berries that appear in the summer months in the northeastern parts of North America.

Space Industry
Together, Beyond!
Space Industry
International Space Development Conference 2025

June 19-22: The annual International Space Development Conference  (ISDC) is the keynote event of the National Space Society, bringing together leading managers, engineers, scientists, educators, enthusiasts, and business people from civilian, military, commercial, entrepreneurial, and grassroots advocacy space sectors - all working toward the common goal of developing a spacefaring civilization.

Rocket Launch
a black and white space plane stands on end in folded up in a hanger.
Rocket Launch
ULA, Vulcan Centaur: Sierra Space — Dream Chaser

NET June: 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. 

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Read more: ULA delays Dream Chaser space plane launch to certify Vulcan Centaur rocket for US military missions

July 2025

Rocket Launch
a white cone-shaped spacecraft
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: NASA — Crew-11

NET July: Crew-11 is the 11th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space launch to the space station through NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission includes NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov.

Booster return: Landing Zone-1, Cape Canaveral, FL

Skywatching
The orange-hued Buck Moon supermoon as seen framed by the Statue of Liberty on July 2, 2023.
Skywatching
Full Buck Moon

July 10: The July full moon is also known as the Buck Moon or the Thunder Moon, the former because it coincides with the time of year when male deer antlers are in full growth and the latter because it is also when thunderstorms are common in many parts of the world. The moon will officially reach full illumination at 4:37 p.m. EDT (2137 GMT) on July 10, but still appears relatively full for a few days around the peak. 

Spaceflight
A SpaceX Dragon capsule descends to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The company is seeking permission to carry out such landings in the Gulf of Mexico as a backup option to the Pacific or Atlantic.
Spaceflight
SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts return Earth

NET July: International Space Station (ISS) residents to launched aboard the SpaceX Crew-10 mission will return to Earth aboard their Crew Dragon Endurance. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will splash down off the coast of California to wrap up a four-month rotation on orbit.

August 2025

Skywatching
Astrophotographer Fernando Roquel Torres captured the Sturgeon Moon full moon over Caguas, Puerto Rico on Aug. 10. 2014.
Skywatching
Full Sturgeon Moon

Aug. 9: August's full moon, the Sturgeon moon, will rise at 3:55 a.m. ET (0855 GMT). The timing of the full moon depends on one's time zone because lunar phases are measured according to the longitudinal position of the moon relative to the Earth against the sky; one's latitude doesn't alter the timing as it would with moonrise and moonset.

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

Rocket Launch
The Russia Soyuz spacecraft in front of an aurora, as captured by NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick on the International Space Station during Expedition 71 in 2024.
Rocket Launch
Roscosmos, Soyuz rocket: Soyuz MS-28

NET November: NASA astronaut Chris Williams will launch on his first mission to the International Space Station, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 74 crew member.

Williams will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft in November, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. The trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

December 2025

Spaceflight
A Soyuz TMA-11M space capsule lands with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on May 14, 2014.
Spaceflight
Soyuz MS-27 astronauts return to Earth

NET Dec: Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky and NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim return to Earth aboard their Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft. They are scheduled to touchdown in Kazakhstan, wrapping up a six-month stint aboard the International Space Station.

2026

Rocket Launch
Illustration shows the first the first Haven-2 module, scheduled to be operational  in 2028
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: Vast — Haven-1

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.

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Read more: SpaceX and Vast want ideas for science experiments on Dragon spacecraft and Haven-1 space station

Rocket Launch
two massive side booster spew yellow orange fire lifting the core stage of a rocket as two main engines also ignite
Rocket Launch
NASA, SLS: Artemis 2

NET Spring 2026: Artemis 2 is the second scheduled flight of the Artemis program and the first crewed Artemis mission. Three astronauts from NASA and one from the Canadian Space Agency will use on a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket aboard the Orion spacecraft on the lunar flyby mission.  

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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.


Past Events

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