Space calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more!
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LAST UPDATED Oct. 6: These 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, ESA, Roscosmos, Spaceflight Now and others.
Watch NASA webcasts and other live launch coverage on our webcast page. Find out what’s up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide and skywatching forecast.
Wondering what happened today in space history? Check out our “On This Day in Space” video show here!
October
Oct. 5: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-19 crew capsule to the International Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and two Russian space tourists: film director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild, who plan to film a movie while spending 12 days in space. It will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:55 a.m. EDT (0855 GMT).
Oct. 6: The new moon arrives at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT)
Oct. 6: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will use an Epsilon rocket to launch the Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite 2 (RAISE 2), a technology demonstration mission, from the Uchinoura Space Center at 8:51 p.m. EDT (0051 Oct. 7 GMT). A previous launch attempt on Sept. 30 was scrubbed due to a ground support issue.
Oct. 8: The Draconid meteor shower, which is active Oct. 6-10, will peak overnight.
Oct. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will pass about 3 degrees to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the western horizon after sunset.
Oct. 14: A Soyuz rocket will launch 36 satellites into orbit for the OneWeb internet constellation. The mission, called OneWeb 11, will lift off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia.
Oct. 14: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Oct. 15: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing gibbous moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Oct. 16: NASA will launch its Lucy mission to study the Trojan asteroids. It will lift off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 5:34 a.m. EDT (0934 GMT), on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Oct. 16/17: The Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule will return to Earth from the International Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, as well as two space tourists: Russian film director Klim Shipenko and a (not-yet-named) Russian actress, who will have arrived on the Soyuz MS-19 mission in September and plan to film a movie in space. Undocking is scheduled for 9:13 p.m. EDT on Oct. 16 (0113 Oct. 17 GMT), and the crew will land in Kazakhstan at approximately 12:36 a.m. (0436 GMT) on Oct. 17.
Oct. 20: The full moon of October, known as the Full Hunter’s Moon, occurs at 10:57 a.m. EDT (1457 GMT).
Oct. 21: The waning gibbous moon and Uranus will make a close approach, passing within 1.3 degrees of each other. Shining at magnitude 5.7, Uranus may be bright enough to spot with the naked eye under dark skies.
Oct. 21: South Korea will launch its new Korea Space Launch Vehicle 2 (KSLV-2) rocket, called Nuri, on its first orbital launch attempt from the Naro Space Center, carrying a dummy payload.
Oct. 21-22: The annual Orionid meteor shower, which is active all month long, peaks overnight.
Oct. 22: Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket to launch the SES 17 and Syracuse 4A communications satellites from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana.
Oct. 24: Mercury at greatest elongation west. The innermost planet will reach its greatest western separation from the sun, shining brightly at magnitude -0.6. Catch the elusive planet above the eastern horizon shortly before sunrise. The following day (Oct. 25) Mercury will reach its highest point in the morning sky.
Oct. 24: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will use an H-2A rocket to launch a replacement satellite for the country’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, a regional GPS system. Dubbed QZS 1R, the satellite will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center during a one-hour launch window that opens at 10 p.m. EDT (0200 Oct. 25 GMT).
Oct. 28: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress 79 cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. It will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Oct. 30: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-3 mission, the third operational astronaut flight to the International Space Station. On board will be NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer. It will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Also scheduled to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now):
- China will launch three astronauts to the Chinese space station on the Shenzhou 13 mission, which will launch on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.
- A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 44 mission for the U.S. Air Force. The mission will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is expected to deploy two undisclosed payloads into geosynchronous orbit.
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 51 satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband internet constellation. It will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California.
- Rocket Lab will use an Electron rocket to launch two Earth observation satellites for the Seattle-based company BlackSky Global‘s planned constellation. The mission, nicknamed “Love At First Insight,” will lift off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. This will be the first in a rapid succession of three BlackSky launches by Rocket Lab scheduled to launch no earlier than October.
November
Nov. 2-3: The annual South Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight. Active from mid-September to mid-November, the Southern Taurids rarely produce more than five visible meteors per hour, but the nearly-new moon should make them easier to spot against a dark sky.
Nov. 4: The new moon arrives at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT).
Nov. 4: Uranus is at opposition, meaning it will appear at its biggest and brightest of the year. Shining at magnitude 5.7, the planet will be visible all night long in the constellation Aries. Uranus may be visible to the naked eye from dark locations but is best seen through a telescope or binoculars.
Nov. 7: Daylight Saving Time ends. Turn your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. local time.
Nov. 8: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will pass about 1 degree to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the western horizon after sunset. Skywatchers in parts of Eastern Asia will see the moon occult Venus, meaning it will briefly pass in front of the planet, blocking it from sight.
Nov. 10: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Nov. 11: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The first-quarter moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Nov. 11-12: The annual North Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight. The shower, which is active from late October to mid-December, is not expected to produce more than a handful of visible “shooting stars” per hour.
Nov. 16-17: One of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, the Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight. The Leonids are expected to produce about 15 meteors per hour on the night of the peak, but the shower is active all month long.
Nov. 19: The full moon of November, known as the Full Beaver Moon, occurs at 3:58 a.m. EST (0858 GMT).
Nov. 19: A partial lunar eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. The moon will enter Earth’s faint outer shadow, known as the penumbra, at 1:02 a.m. EST (0602 GMT). The partial eclipse, when the moon will darken more noticeably, begins at 2:18 a.m. EST (0718 GMT). Maximum eclipse occurs at 4:02 a.m. EST (0902 GMT). The entire event will last about six hours.
Nov. 22: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch two satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. It will lift off from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:07 p.m. EST (0107 Nov. 23 GMT).
Nov. 24: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, at 1:58 a.m. EST (0658 GMT).
Nov. 24: Russia will use a Soyuz rocket to launch a new module to the International Space Station. The Uzlovoy Module, also known as Prichal, will dock with Russia’s Nauka science module and will serve as a docking port for Russian vehicles. The mission will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
December
Dec. 4: The only total solar eclipse of the year (and the last total solar eclipse until 2023) will be visible from Antarctica. Skywatchers in South Africa, Namibia, the southern tip of South America and some islands in the South Atlantic will be able to see at least a partial solar eclipse, with the moon blocking a portion of the sun from view.
Dec. 4: The new moon arrives at 2:44 a.m. EST (0744 GMT).
Dec. 4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon cargo resupply mission (CRS-24) to the International Space Station. It will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Dec. 6: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will pass about 2 degrees to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the western horizon after sunset.
Dec. 7: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Dec. 8: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-20 crew capsule to the International Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and video producer Yozo Hirano.
Dec. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Dec. 13: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Dec. 13-14: The annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the best meteor showers of the year, peaks overnight. The Geminids are active Dec. 4-17 often produce up to 50 visible meteors per hours, but this year the 78% full moon will outshine the fainter meteors.
Dec. 18: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 ECA rocket.
Dec. 18: The full moon of December, known as the Full Cold Moon, occurs at 11:37 p.m. EST (0437 Dec. 19 GMT).
Dec. 21: The solstice arrives at 10:59 a.m. EST (1559 GMT), marking 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. Typically active around Dec. 17-26, the Ursids produce about five to 10 visible meteors per hour on the morning of the peak.
Also scheduled to launch in December (from Spaceflight Now):
- SpaceX will launch the Transporter 3 rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
- A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 34 satellites into orbit for the OneWeb internet constellation. The mission, called OneWeb 12, will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
- Russia’s Angara-A5 rocket will launch on its third orbital test flight, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.
More coming in 2021…
TBD: Starliner OFT-2. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its second uncrewed mission to the International Space Station no earlier than November 2020. The Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the STP-3 rideshare mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the USSF-8 mission for the Space Force’s Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP). It will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
TBD: India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will launch the Indian RISAT 1A radar Earth observation satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.
Q4: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission to the moon from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.
Q4: India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital test flight from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India. The mission was delayed from April 2021.
Q4: India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch its first commercial mission with four Earth observation satellites for the Seattle-based company BlackSky Global. It will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.
Q4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Turksat 5B communications satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Q4: An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch three CERES satellites for the French military. (CERES stands for “Capacité de Renseignement d’origine Electromagnétique Spatiale,” which translates to “Intelligence Capacity of Space Electromagnetic Origin.”) The mission will lift off from the Guiana Spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana.
Please send any corrections, updates or suggested calendar additions to hweitering@space.com. Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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