Launch Schedule

An Arianespace Vega-C rocket will launch Airbus’ four CO3D (Constellation Optique en 3D) satellites into a low Earth polar, Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 502 km (312 mi). They are joined on the rocket by the MicroCarb satellite from the French space agency, CNES, which will operate in a circular SSO at an altitude of 650 km (404 mi). The two missions are designed to operate for six years and five years respectively. CO3D will use its four, small satellites for an Earth observation and 3D mapping mission while MicroCarb works to measure global atmospheric carbon dioxide distribution. The mission is designated as Flight VV27 by Arianespace denoting this as the 27th launch of a Vega-class rocket. This will be the fifth flight of a Vega-C rocket.

Updated: July 23

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will target a landing on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from July 25.

Updated: July 23

Gilmour Space in Australia is preparing to launch the inaugural flight of its Eris Block 1 rocket. The three-stage launch vehicle is 25 m (82 ft) tall and is equipped with 1.5 m (4.9 ft) diameter payload fairings. The rocket is designed to send up to 305 kg up to low Earth orbit. This first mission, called “TestFlight1,” does not appear to have a payload on board. Delayed from May 4, 2024, due to a lack of launch permit. Delayed from May 14/15 due to a ground support system issue. Delayed from May 15/16 due to unintended triggering of the payload fairing deployment at the pad. Delayed from July 1, 2, 3 & 16.

Updated: July 16

A Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) F-16 rocket from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite into a 743 km Sun-synchronous orbit at a 98.4 inclination. The NISAR satellite, weighing 2,392 kg (5,273.5 lbs), is described as the first SAR satellite that features a dual frequency that combines an L-band from NASA and an S-band from ISRO. This is the first satellite produced through a collaboration between these two space agencies.

Updated: July 21

SpaceX will launch its Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying three astronauts and a cosmonaut to begin a long-duration mission onboard the International Space Station. This will be the 11th crew rotation mission launched under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission will be led by NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, who will be making her first trip to space. She was previously assigned as the commander of the Crew-9 mission before NASA removed her and fellow NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson to create space for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return onboard the Dragon Freedom spacecraft. Cardman will be joined by fellow NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. Platonov will be making his first trip to space. This will be the fourth trip to the ISS for Fincke and the second for Yui.

Updated: July 10

An Ariane 6 rocket from Arianespace will launch EUMETSAT’s MetOp-SG A1 (MetOp Second Generation) satellite to a polar orbit at an altitude of 832 km (517 mi). The satellite also carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 satellite onboard. This is the first in a series of six satellites scheduled to be launched between now and 2040. These MetOp satellites weigh more than 4,000 kg (8,819 lbs) each and is about the size of a small truck. This will be the third launch of an Ariane 6 rocket.

Updated: July 03

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Cargo Dragon spacecraft with thousands of pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station. Its launch date is being driven by the launch of the SpaceX Crew-11 flight to the ISS, which is scheduled for late July or early August as of July 3, as well as the departure of Crew-10. The Dragon flying this mission will include a new propulsion system within the vehicle’s trunk that will allow it to perform a boost of the space station. This is a milestone in SpaceX’s development of the ISS Deorbit Vehicle, which will help slowly lower the orbit of the space station at the end of its functional life around the 2030/2031 timeframe.

Updated: July 03

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Cygnus spacecraft from Northrop Grumman on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. This will be the 22nd launch of a Cygnus spacecraft. The NG-22 mission was delayed indefinitely after the spacecraft was damaged during transport to Florida.

Updated: July 03

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a rideshare mission carrying two spacecraft for NASA and one for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The primary payload is NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), which will use its 10 science instruments to study the boundary of the Sun’s heliosphere. Along for the ride are NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, designed to observe the ultraviolet light from the Earth’s geocorona, and NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1), which will monitor the Sun for key space weather activity. All three spacecraft will be sent toe Lagrange Point 1 (L1), which is about a 1.5 million km from Earth and is positioned in between the Earth and the Sun.

Updated: July 09

An H3 launch vehicle, a rocket developed through a partnership between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), will launch the first HTV-X cargo resupply vehicle to the International Space Station.

Updated: July 03

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second of the two-satellite Sentinel-6 series. NASA awarded SpaceX a $94 million firm fixed price contract for the launch in 2022. The Sentinel-6B “will use a radar altimeter to bounce signals off the ocean surface and deliver continuity of ocean topography measurements,” according to NASA. The missions is designed through a partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Organization for the Exploration of Meteorological Studies.

Updated: February 27

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its second demonstration flight with Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser cargo vehicle for the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser is a lifting body resupply spacecraft that will launch on top of a rocket and land on a runway. This will be the Dream Chaser’s first flight to space. The Vulcan Centaur rocket will fly in the VC4L configuration with four GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters, a long-length payload fairing, and two RL10 engines on the Centaur upper stage. Delayed from August 2022, December 2023, January 2024,  April 2024 and September 2024.

Updated: May 05

A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch a pair of identical spacecraft on NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) mission. The two satellites, named Blue and Gold, will make a roughly 11-month journey to Mars where they will then perform about an 11-month science mission while orbiting the Red Planet. Blue and Gold were manufactured by Rocket Lab over about 3.5 years and carry science experiments from the University of California, Berkeley. This launch of the New Glenn rocket will also feature a landing attempt on its landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from October 13.

Updated: April 26

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch NASA’s Dragonfly mission, which consists of a rotorcraft designed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) that will explore Saturn’s icy moon, Titan. The mission was originally selected in 2019 and went through multiple plan iterations across fiscal years 2020 through 2022. It passed its Preliminary Design Review in March 2023 and then its Critical Design Review in April 2025. The mission has a total lifecycle cost of $3.35 billion, of which, $256.6 million was awarded to SpaceX to provide launch services and other mission related costs. The 20-day launch window opens on July 5, 2028.

Updated: April 25