Space calendar 2026: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

Note: Launch dates are subject to change. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on launch dates you see here.

February

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 17-34

February 11, 9:07 a.m. EST (1407 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), fromSLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provide low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with more than 8,000 currently in the orbital network.

Rocket Launch
Spectators watch the launch of the Jielong No.3 carrier rocket from the seaside in Haiyang, China, on Sept. 24, 2024 local time.
Rocket Launch
China Rocket Co., Smart Dragon-3: Geely Constellation Group 06

February 12, 1:30 a.m. EST (0630 GMT): The China Rocket Co. Ltd. is expected to launch an unknown payload into low-Earth orbit. The mission will liftoff on a Smart Dragon-3 rocket from a launch complex at sea.

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Is there a rocket launch today?

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-87

February 12, 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT): ULA will launch a classified payload on behalf of the U.S. Space Force. The mission will liftoff on a Vulcan Centaur rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSF), in Florida.

Rocket Launch
A Russian Proton-M rocket carrying the Yamal-601 communications satellite launches into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on May 30, 2019.
Rocket Launch
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Proton-M: Elektro-L No.5

February 12, 3:52 a.m. EST (0852 GMT): The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, a Moscow-based space manufacturer, will launch a Proton-M rocket with the Elektro-L No.5 Earth-imaging satellite. Liftoff will occur from launch complex 81/24 (81P) at Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

Rocket Launch
An Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket launches the Sentinel-1D Earth-observation satellite from French Guiana on Nov. 4, 2025.
Rocket Launch
Arianespace, Ariane 6: Amazon Leo (LE-01)

February 12, 11:45 a.m. EST (1645 GMT): Arianespace will launch an Ariane 6 rocket to deliver a batch of Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, megaconstellation internet satellites to low-Earth orbit. Liftoff for the LE-01 mission will take place from ULA's Space Launch Area-4 (LA-4), at the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana.

Rocket Launch
a white cone-shaped spacecraft
Rocket Launch
SpaceX, Falcon 9: NASA — Crew-12

February 13, 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 GMT): Crew-12 is the 12th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space launch to the space station through NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

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 6-103

February 14 12:00 a.m. EST (0500 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provides 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 17-13

February 14, 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), fromSLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provide low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with more than 8,000 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 10-36

February 17, 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provides 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 6-104

February 19, 1:56 a.m. EST (0656 GMT): A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO), from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, in Florida. SpaceX's megaconstellation of LEO Starlink satellites provides low-cost internet to locations around the globe, with nearly seven thousand currently in the orbital network.

Rocket Launch
This still image from a state-run CCTV newscast shows the Long March 2F rocket carrying China's Tiangong-2 space lab rolling out to the launch pad for a mid-September 2016 launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Rocket Launch
CASC, Long March 7A: Unknown payload

NET February: The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to launch an unknown payload on a Long March 7A rocket. The mission will liftoff from Launch Area-201 (LA-201) at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center (WSLC), in China. The Long March 7A is a 197-foot-tall (60 meters) variant of the Long March 7 rocket and is designed to send spacecraft into GTO. It is also a nontoxic alternative to the workhorse Long March 3B.

Rocket Launch
a crane stretches above a rocket on a launchpad, flanked by tall, cylindrical pressure tanks on either side. the hazy clouds in the sky wash the background in dim sunset hues.
Rocket Launch
Isar Aerospace, Spectrum: Flight Two

NET February: The second flight of the first orbital rocket to launch from Europe will launch Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport, in Norway. The mission will launch several cubesats from the European Space Agency's "Boost!" program.

Rocket Launch
An Indian Space Research Organisation GLSV-F14 rocket launches the powerful INSAT-3DS weather satellite to orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota, India on Feb. 17, 2024 local time.
Rocket Launch
ISRO, GSLV Mk II: IRNSS (NVS-03)

NET February: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch a GPS satellite, known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) rocket. The mission will liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Rocket Launch
An Indian LVM3 rocket launches the final 36 satellites for OneWeb's first-generation broadband constellation from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on March 25, 2023.
Rocket Launch
ISRO, LVM-3 (GSLV Mk III): Gaganyaan-1

NET February: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch the first uncrewed test flight of the Gaganyaan spacecraft. The uncrewed demonstration will test crew and service modules, reentry, parachute deployment and a safe splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.

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India delays its 1st-ever Gaganyaan astronaut launch to 2026

Spaceflight
An orange rocket with a white top next to a launch tower.
Spaceflight
NASA, SLS: Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal

NET mid-February: The Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal will begin with an initial call to stations for mission teams at the beginning of a 49-hour simulated launch countdown to a T-0 on Feb. 2 at 9:00 p.m. EST (0200 GMT, Feb. 3). Wet dress is the final major qualification hurdle for SLS to pass before Artemis 2 is cleared to launch a crew of astronauts around the moon.

March

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

March 6, 8:29 p.m. EST (0129 GMT, March 8): Artemis 2 will send three NASA astronauts and one Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut around the moon for humanity's first lunar excursion in more than 50 years. The mission will launch the crew aboard an Orion spacecraft on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, on a free-return trajectory lunar flyby to the moon and back to Earth.

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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.


Rocket Launch
A Hyperbola 1 solid rocket lifts off from Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi Desert on April 7, 2023.
Rocket Launch
iSpace, Hyperbola-1: unknown payload

Q1 2026: The Chinese company iSpace is expected to launch an unknown payload aboard a solid propellant-fueled Hyperbola-1 rocket.

Rocket Launch
A Canadian rocket flies in space
Rocket Launch
NordSpace, Taiga: Getting Screeched In

Q1 2026: NordSpace will launch the first test flight of its suborbital Taiga rocket. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex-02 (SLC-02) at the company's Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX), in Newfoundland, Canada. The mission, "Getting Screeched In", will launch Taiga on a low-altitude flight to test its primary systems.

Rocket Launch
A Rocket Lab Electron booster is decked out with a big NASA logo ahead of the company's first launch for the U.S. space agency from its New Zealand launch site, on the North Island's Mahia Peninsula. Liftoff is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2018.
Rocket Launch
Rocket Lab, Electron: NASA, Aspera smallsat

Q1 2026: Rocket Lab will launch an Electron rocket with NASA's Aspera smallsat satellite. Aspera will examine hot gas in the space between galaxies, called the intergalactic medium. The mission will study the inflow and outflow of gas from galaxies, a process thought to contribute to star formation.

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 2026: 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 Canadian rocket flies in space
Rocket Launch
NordSpace, Taiga: Suborbital Flight Test 2

NET 2026: NordSpace will launch the second test flight of its suborbital Taiga rocket. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex-02 (SLC-02) at the company's Atlantic Spaceport Complex, in Newfoundland, Canada.

Human Spaceflight
an astronaut in a white spacesuit works outside a space station opposite a space capsule
Human Spaceflight
U.S. Spacewalk 94

NET Sumer 2026: NASA astronauts Mike Finke and Zena Cardman are scheduled to begin the station's 278th spacewalk, U.S. EVA 94 early Jan. 8. The duo will spend about 6.5 hours outside the International Space Station (ISS) to prepare the station's 2A power channel for the upcoming attachment of additional International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (IROSAs). The two will also collect surface sample swabs to look for microbes on the exterior of various ISS modules.

Human Spaceflight
NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Anne McClain is pictured near one of the International Space Station’s main solar arrays during a spacewalk on May 1, 2025 to upgrade the orbital outpost’s power generation system and relocate a communications antenna.
Human Spaceflight
U.S. Spacewalk 95

NET Sumer 2026: Two NASA astronauts will conduct the station's 279th spacewalk, U.S. EVA 95, early Jan. 15. The duo will spend about 6.5 hours outside the International Space Station (ISS) to replace a high-definition camera, install a new navigational aid for visiting spacecraft, as well as other upgrades.

2027

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 2026: 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

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

Past Events

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