LAST UPDATED Sept. 26. 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 (opens in new tab), ESA (opens in new tab), Roscosmos (opens in new tab), Spaceflight Now (opens in new tab) and others.
Watch NASA webcasts and other live launch coverage on our webcast page (opens in new tab). Find out what’s up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide (opens in new tab) and skywatching forecast (opens in new tab).
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September
Sept. 25: The new moon arrives at 5:54 p.m. EDT (2154 GMT).
Sept. 30: A Firefly Alpha rocket will launch on its second test flight from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch window is 3:01-5:00 a.m. EDT (0701-0900 GMT).
Sept. 30: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch SES 20 and SES 21 communications satellites. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch window is 5:36-6:16 p.m. EDT (2136-2216 GMT).
October
Oct. 3: NASA and SpaceX will launch the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon will be carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The Falcon 9 rocket will lift off at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:25 p.m. EDT (1645 GMT).
Oct. 5: The GAzelle satellite will be launched by a Rocket Lab Electron rocket for General Atomics. The launch is scheduled for 1:04 p.m. EDT (1704 GMT) from Launch Complex 1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.
Oct. 8: The Draconid meteor shower, which is active Oct. 6-10, will peak overnight.
Oct. 9: The full moon of October, known as the Hunter’s Moon, arrives at 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT).
Oct. 20-21: The annual Orionid meteor shower, which is active all month long, peaks overnight.
Oct. 25: The new moon arrives at 6:48 a.m. EDT (1048 GMT).
Oct. 25: A partial solar eclipse will be visible from Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and western parts of Asia.
Oct. 26: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress 82P cargo ship to the International Space Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
Oct. 31: Boo! It’s Halloween, even in space.
Also scheduled to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now):
- A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 52 mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.
- A Chinese Long March 5B rocket will launch the third major element of China’s space station, the Mengtian laboratory module.
November
Nov. 1: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the Joint Polar Satellite System 2 (JPSS 2) for NASA and NOAA as well as the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) on a test flight. LOFTID is a joint project between NASA and ULA.
Nov. 4-5: The annual South Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight.
NET Nov. 6: A Cygnus cargo freighter will launch to the International Space Station from Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia, aboard a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket.
Nov. 7-8: A total lunar eclipse will be visible from Asia, Australia, North America, parts of northern and eastern Europe and South America.
Nov. 8: The full moon of November, known as the Beaver Moon, arrives at 6:02 a.m. EST (1102 GMT).
Nov. 11-12: The annual North Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight.
Nov. 15: The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency CNES, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Nov. 17-18: One of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, the Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight.
Nov. 23: The new moon arrives at 5:57 p.m. EST (2257 GMT).
Also scheduled to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a U.S. Space Force mission, USSF 67, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- The Pléiades Neo 5 and 6 Earth observation satellites will launch aboard an Arianespace Vega-C rocket for Airbus from Kourou, French Guiana.
December
Dec. 7: The full moon of December, known as the Cold Moon, arrives at 11:08 p.m. EST (0408 Dec. 8 GMT).
Dec. 13-14: The annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the best meteor showers of the year, peaks overnight.
Dec. 21: Solstice. Today marks the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Dec. 21-22: The annual Ursid meteor shower peaks overnight.
Dec. 22: NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission will launch to the moon’s south pole on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will use the Nova-C lunar landing platform developed by Intuitive Machines.
Dec. 23: The new moon arrives at 5:16 a.m. EDT (0916 GMT).
Also scheduled to launch in December (from Spaceflight Now):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a rideshare mission called Transporter 6. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
More coming in 2022…
4th Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch a new-generation Boeing-build broadband satellite ViaSat 3 Americas.
4th Quarter: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first two WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Late 2022: 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.
Late 2022: 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.
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 SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 44 mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
TBD: SpaceX’s first Starship Orbital Test Flight could launch from Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas to orbit the Earth and splashdown off the coast of Hawaii.
TBD: NASA’s will launch the Artemis 1 moon mission on the first Space Launch System megarocket. Keep up to date with the mission on our Live Artemis 1 updates page.
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