A regularly updated listing of planned orbital missions from spaceports around the globe. Dates and times are given in Greenwich Mean Time. “NET” stands for no earlier than. “TBD” means to be determined. Recent updates appear in red type. Please send any corrections, additions or updates by e-mail to: sclark@spaceflightnow.com.
See our Launch Log for a listing of completed space missions since 2004.
Latest changes:
March 21: Adding Kuaizhou 1A/TBD; Electron/”The Beat Goes On” delayed; Adding two Soyuz launches from Plesetsk Cosmodrome; Updating launch site and date for Falcon 9/Transporter 7; Updating time for Ariane 5/JUICE; Adding PSLV/TeLEOS 2; Updating launch site for Falcon 9/WorldView Legion 1 & 2; Adding date for Delta 4-Heavy/NROL-68; Adding date for Falcon 9/Axiom Mission 2; Adding Falcon 9/OneWeb & Iridium Next; Adding Long March 7/Tianzhou 6; Adding H-2A/XRISM & SLIM; Adding Long March 2F/Shenzhou 16; Adding date for Ariane 5/Syracuse 4B & Heinrich Hertz; Adding Falcon 9/Axiom Mission 3; Adding Long March 2F/Shenzhou 17
March 20: Updating time for Falcon 9/Starlink 5-5
March 17: Adding date and window for Terran 1/”Good Luck, Have Fun”; Adding Electron/”The Beat Goes On”; Updating Falcon 9/Starlink 5-5; Falcon 9/Starlink 6-2 delayed; Updating time for GSLV Mk.3/OneWeb 18; Adding date for Falcon 9/SDA Tranche 0; Falcon 9/Starlink 6-3 delayed; Adding Falcon 9/Starlink 2-9; Starship/Orbital Test Flight delayed; Updating schedule for Falcon 9/Euclid
March 14: Electron/”Stronger Together” delayed; Falcon 9/Starlink 2-8 delayed; Updating window for Falcon 9/SES 18 & SES 19; Adding date for Falcon 9/Starlink 6-2; Adding Falcon 9/Starlink 6-3; Updating timeframe for Atlas 5/CST-100 Starliner Crew Test Flight
March 13: Falcon 9/Starlink 2-8 delayed; Updating time for Falcon 9/SES 18 & 19; Delta 4-Heavy/NROL-68 delayed
March 22Kuaizhou 1A • TBD
Launch time: Approx. 0910 GMT (5:10 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
A Chinese Kuaizhou 1A rocket will launch an undisclosed payload into orbit. [March 21]
March 22/23Terran 1 • “Good Luck, Have Fun”
Launch window: 0200-0500 GMT on 23rd (10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. EDT on 22nd/23rd)
Launch site: LC-16, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: LC-16, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A Relativity Space Terran 1 rocket will launch on its inaugural demonstration flight. This launch of Terran 1 is the first orbital attempt by Relativity and will not include a customer payload. Scrubbed on March 8 and March 11. [March 17]
March 23Soyuz • TBD
Launch time: Approx. 0600 GMT (2:00 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch an undisclosed payload for the Russian military. [March 21]
March 24Electron • “The Beat Goes On”
Launch time: 0745 GMT (3:45 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
Launch site: Launch Complex 1B, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch two commercial optical Earth-imaging satellites for BlackSky. This mission is nicknamed “The Beat Goes On” by Rocket Lab, which will attempt to recover the Electron’s first stage booster at sea. Delayed from March 22 due to bad weather forecast. [March 21]
March 24Falcon 9 • Starlink 5-5
Launch time: 1533 GMT (11:33 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [March 20]
March 25/26GSLV Mk.3 • OneWeb 18
Launch time: 0330 GMT on 26th (11:30 p.m. EDT on 25th)
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk. 3 (GSLV Mk.3) will launch 36 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. [March 17]
March 29Soyuz • TBD
Launch time: Approx. 1900 GMT (3:00 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
Launch site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch an undisclosed payload for the Russian military. [March 21]
March 30Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of second-generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from March 24. [March 17]
March 30Falcon 9 • SDA Tranche 0
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch around 10 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency. The launch is the first of two Falcon 9 missions to carry SDA demonstration spacecraft for a future constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. Delayed from Sept. 24. Delayed from Sept. 29 by payload supply chain issues. Delayed from January due to satellite issue. [March 17]
April 7Falcon 9 • Intelsat 40e/TEMPO
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Intelsat 40e communications satellite for Intelsat. Intelsat 40e will join Intelsat’s “Epic” fleet of high-throughput satellites, providing in-flight connectivity and other mobile communications services over North and Central America. Intelsat 40e is a partial replacement for Intelsat 29e, which failed in 2019. Intelsat 40e hosts NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument to measure atmospheric chemistry and monitor air pollution over North America. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was built by Maxar, and is based on the 1300 platform. Delayed from March 7. [Feb. 16]
April 8Falcon Heavy • ViaSat 3 Americas
Launch time: 2225 GMT (6:25 p.m. EDT)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the ViaSat 3 Americas broadband communications satellite. ViaSat 3 Americas is the first of at least three new-generation Boeing-built geostationary satellites for ViaSat. A small communications satellite named Arcturus will launch as a secondary payload for Astranis. Delayed from 3rd Quarter and December 2022. Delayed from January and March 2023. [Feb. 16]
April 9Falcon 9 • Transporter 7
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 7 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. [March 21]
AprilFalcon 9 • Starlink 6-3
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of second-generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [March 17]
April 13Ariane 5 • JUICE
Launch time: 1215:01 GMT (8:15:01 a.m. EDT)
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA261, to launch the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or JUICE. The JUICE spacecraft, built by Airbus, will make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa — with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. JUICE will enter orbit around Jupiter in July 2031. This will mark the penultimate launch of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket. [March 21]
AprilFalcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 3 & 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of O3b mPOWER broadband internet satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for SES of Luxembourg. The satellites, built by Boeing, will provide internet services over most of the populated world, building on SES’s O3b network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from February and March. [Feb. 27]
AprilFalcon 9 • WorldView Legion 1 & 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Florida
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first two WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. Delayed from January and September 2021. Delayed from March, May, June, July, and September 2022. Delayed again from 4th Quarter 2022. Delayed from January 2023 and March 2023. Launch moved from Cape Canaveral to Vandenberg. [March 2]
AprilPSLV • TeLEOS 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, will launch the TeLEOS 2 satellite for Singapore. TeLEOS 2 was built in Singapore by ST Electronics, and carries an all-weather synthetic aperture radar Earth observation payload. [March 21]
April 20Delta 4-Heavy • NROL-68
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket. This is the penultimate flight of a Delta 4 rocket. Delayed from March [March 21]
April 21Antares • NG-19
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch the 20th Cygnus cargo freighter on the 19th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-19. The rocket will fly in the Antares 230+ configuration, with two RD-181 first stage engines and a Castor 30XL second stage. This will be the final flight of an Antares 230+ rocket before a redesign with new U.S.-made engines. Delayed from March. [Feb. 16]
NET AprilStarship • Orbital Test Flight
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas
Launch site: Starbase, Boca Chica Beach, Texas
A SpaceX Super Heavy and Starship launch vehicle will launch on its first orbital test flight. The mission will attempt to travel around the world for nearly one full orbit, resulting in a re-entry and splashdown of the Starship near Hawaii. Delayed from 2022. [March 17]
NET Late AprilAtlas 5 • CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-085, will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first mission with astronauts, known as the Crew Test Flight, to the International Space Station. The capsule will dock with the space station, then return to Earth to landing in the Western United States. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly on the mission. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket boosters and a dual-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from August and 1st Quarter of 2020. Delayed from mid-2020 after Boeing decision to refly the Orbital Flight Test. Delayed from early 2021, June 2021, and late 2021. Delayed from late 2022 to implement fixes on the Starliner spacecraft after OFT-2. [March 14]
2nd QuarterFalcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 5 & 6
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third pair of O3b mPOWER broadband internet satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for SES of Luxembourg. The satellites, built by Boeing, will provide internet services over most of the populated world, building on SES’s O3b network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from March. [Feb. 16]
AprilFalcon 9 • Starlink 2-9
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites. This mission will deploy the Starlink satellites into a high-inclination orbit inclined 70 degrees to the equator. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. [March 17]
May 1Falcon 9 • Axiom Mission 2
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 10th flight with astronauts. The commercial mission, managed by Axiom Space, is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. Paying passenger John Shoffner will serve as pilot of the mission. Two commercial space fliers from Saudi Arabia, Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, will also be on the approximately two-week mission to the space station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea off the coast of Florida. [March 21]
2nd QuarterFalcon 9 • Galaxy 37
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Galaxy 37 C-band television broadcasting satellite for Intelsat. The spacecraft was built by Maxar. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [Feb. 16]
May 4Vulcan Centaur • Peregrine
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its inaugural flight with the Peregrine commercial lunar lander for Astrobotic. The Peregrine robotic lander will carry multiple experiments, scientific instruments, and tech demo payloads for NASA and other customers. The mission will also launch two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband constellation. The Vulcan Centaur rocket will fly in the VC2S configuration with two GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters, a short-length payload fairing, and two RL10 engines on the Centaur upper stage. Delayed from mid-2022 and late 2022. Delayed from 1st Quarter 2023. [March 2]
Early MayFalcon 9 • OneWeb & Iridium Next
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 15 spare satellites for OneWeb’s first-generation global internet network and one prototype for OneWeb’s Gen2 second-generation network. Five spare satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet will also launch on this mission. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg. [March 21]
MayLong March 7 • Tianzhou 6
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Wenchang, China
Launch site: Wenchang, China
A Chinese Long March 7 rocket will launch the Tianzhou 6 resupply ship to dock with the Chinese space station. The automated cargo craft is the fifth resupply freighter for the Chinese space station. [March 21]
MayFalcon Heavy • Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 broadband communications satellite. Built by Maxar, Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 is a Ka-band high-throughput ultra high density satellite for EchoStar’s Hughes Network Systems. Jupiter 3/EchoStar 24 will support in-flight WiFi, maritime connections, enterprise networks, backhaul for mobile network operators, and community WiFi solutions across the Americas. [Feb. 16]
2nd QuarterFalcon 9 • Türksat 6A
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Türksat 6A communications satellite for the Turkish operator Türksat. Türksat 6A is the first geostationary communications satellite to be built in Turkey, with development led by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute and Turkish Aerospace Industries. [Feb. 16]
2nd QuarterH-2A • XRISM & SLIM
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: Launch Pad 1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Launch site: Launch Pad 1, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
A Japanese H-2A rocket, designated H-2A F47, will launch the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM, a joint project between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA. XRISM is a replacement for the Hitomi X-ray astrophysics observatory, which failed about one month after launch in 2016. XRISM will perform high-resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations of the hot gas plasma wind that blows through the galaxies in the universe. These observations will enable us to determine flows of mass and energy, revealing the composition and evolution of celestial objects. JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, mission will fly as a rideshare on this launch, heading to the moon to test precision landing technology. The H-2A rocket will fly in the 202 configuration with two strap-on solid rocket boosters. [March 21]
May 24Soyuz • Progress 84P
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 84th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [Feb. 16]
MayLong March 2F • Shenzhou 16
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
A Chinese Long March 2F rocket will launch the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts to rendezvous and dock with the Chinese space station in low Earth orbit. This is China’s 11th crewed space mission, and the fifth to the Chinese space station. The crew members have not been announced by China. [March 21]
TBDFalcon 9 • WorldView Legion 3 & 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. [Nov. 22]
JuneFalcon 9 • SpaceX CRS 28
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight is the 28th mission by SpaceX conducted under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. [Jan. 13]
2nd QuarterAtlas 5 • USSF 51
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-101, will launch the USSF 51 mission for the U.S. Space Force. This mission will launch an undisclosed payload for the military. [Oct. 26]
NET June 10Falcon 9 • Transporter 8
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Transporter 8 mission, a rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with numerous small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers. [Feb. 16]
June 21Ariane 5 • Syracuse 4B & Heinrich Hertz
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Launch site: ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana
Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA260, to launch the Syracuse 4B and Heinrich Hertz communications satellites. Syracuse 4B, built by Airbus, will relay secure communications between French military aircraft, ground vehicles, and naval vessels, including submarines. The Heinrich Hertz satellite, built by OHB, will test new communications technologies on a mission funded by the German government. This will be the final launch of an Ariane 5 rocket. Delayed from February due to problems completing the Heinrich Hertz satellite. [March 21]
JuneFalcon 9 • IM-1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the IM-1 mission with the Nova-C lander built and owned by Intuitive Machines. The IM-1 mission will attempt to deliver a suite of science payloads to the surface of the moon for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Delayed from 3rd Quarter of 2022, December 2022, January 2023, and March 2023. [Feb. 16]
JuneFalcon Heavy • USSF 52
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 52 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The Falcon Heavy will launch an unspecified military payload on this mission. Delayed from October 2021 and 2nd Quarter 2022. Delayed from October. [Feb. 16]
JulyFalcon 9 • Polaris Dawn
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 11th flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The Polaris Dawn mission will be commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, making his second trip to space. He will be joined on the all-private mission by pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from November and December 2022, and from March 2023. [Feb. 16]
JulyFalcon 9 • Euclid
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Euclid mission for the European Space Agency. Euclid is an astrophysics mission with a telescope and two scientific instruments designed to explore the evolution of the dark universe. It will make a 3D-map of the universe by observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than a third of the sky. Euclid will be launched to an observing orbit at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point. The mission was originally supposed to launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket. [March 17]
AugustFalcon 9 • Crew 7
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 12th flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. [Jan. 13]
NET AugustVulcan Centaur • Dream Chaser 1
Launch window: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
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. [Feb. 16]
AugustSoyuz • Progress 85P
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 85th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [Feb. 16]
SeptemberAtlas 5 • ViaSat 3 EMEA
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-100, will launch launch the ViaSat 3 EMEA broadband communications satellite. ViaSat 3 Americas is the second of at least three new-generation Boeing-built geostationary satellites for Viasat. ViaSat EMEA will cover the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. Delayed from mid-2023. [Feb. 16]
SeptemberSoyuz • Soyuz MS-24
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the crewed Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The mission will carry Russian commander Oleg Kononenko, Russian flight engineer Nikolai Chub, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara into orbit for a long-duration flight on the space station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. [Feb. 15]
Oct. 10Falcon Heavy • Psyche
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission. The Maxar-built spacecraft will travel to the metallic asteroid Psyche, where it will enter orbit in 2029. This is the first spacecraft to explore a metal-rich asteroid, which may be the leftover core of a protoplanet that began forming in the early solar system more than 4 billion years ago. The Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters will return to Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for recovery. The center core will be expended. Delayed from 2022 due to payload software issues. [Feb. 16]
OctoberFalcon 9 • NG-20
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Northrop Grumman’s 21st Cygnus cargo freighter on the 20th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-20. The launch vehicle for this mission was changed from Northrop Grumman’s own Antares 230+ rocket to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended engine and booster production for the Antares program. [Feb. 16]
NovemberFalcon 9 • Axiom Mission 3
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 13th flight with astronauts. The commercial mission, managed by Axiom Space, is commanded by a former NASA astronaut. Three passengers, including a representative of the Turkish Space Agency, are expected to also fly on this two-week commercial mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. [March 21]
NovemberLong March 2F • Shenzhou 17
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
Launch site: Jiuquan, China
A Chinese Long March 2F rocket will launch the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts to rendezvous and dock with the Chinese space station in low Earth orbit. This is China’s 12th crewed space mission, and the sixth to the Chinese space station. The crew members have not been announced by China. [March 21]
4th QuarterFalcon 9 • ASBM
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, consisting of two satellites owned by Space Norway. The Falcon 9 will launch the two Northrop Grumman-built satellites into a highly elliptical orbit that lingers over the Arctic region. The satellites carry communications payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Space Force, and Inmarsat. [Feb. 16]
DecemberFalcon 9 • SpaceX CRS 29
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon 2 spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight is the 29th mission by SpaceX conducted under a Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. [Feb. 16]