Upcoming Launches
| Launch | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Lucy | ULA | Atlas V | Saturday, October 16, 5:34 a.m. EDT | SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida |
| Starlink Group 2-2 | SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Sunday October 17, 2:43 a.m. EDT | SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California |
| Crew-3 | SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Sunday, October 30 | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| IXPE | SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Wednesday, November 17 | TBD, Florida |
| DART | SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Wednesday, November 24, 1:20 a.m. EDT | SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California |
| CRS-24 | SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Saturday, December 4 | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| MS-20 | Roscosmos | Soyuz | Wednesday, December 8 | Site 31, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan |
| James Webb Space Telescope | Arianespace | Ariane 5 | Saturday, December 18, 7:20 a.m. EDT | ELA-3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana |
| Artemis I | NASA | Space Launch System | Sunday, December 26 | LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| GOES-T | ULA | Atlas V | Saturday, January 8, 4:33 p.m. – 6:33 p.m. EDT | SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida |
| AX-1 | SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Monday, February 21 | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
Upcoming Launch Descriptions
Lucy | ULA | Atlas V
Saturday, October 16, 5:34 a.m. EDT
SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
NASA’s Lucy mission to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids will be the first of its kind. The spacecraft will make a trip between the two groupings of asteroids that lead and follow Jupiter in its orbit. The mission takes its name from the fossilized human ancestor (called “Lucy” by her discoverers), whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity’s evolution. Likewise, the Lucy mission will revolutionize our knowledge of planetary origins and the solar system’s formation.
Starlink Group 2-2 | SpaceX | Falcon 9
Sunday October 17, 2:43 a.m. EDT
SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
SpaceX is preparing to launch its second operational Starlink mission from the west coast. The task will likely be similar to its last launch from Vandenberg, with 51 version 1.5 Starlink satellites meant for the second group in the constellation.
Crew-3 | SpaceX | Falcon 9 [CREWED]
Sunday, October 30
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
SpaceX’s upcoming third operational launch for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program will bring up four new crew members to the International Space Station. They will replace the four members that arrived on the Crew-2 mission.
Crew
- Raja Chari (Spacecraft Commander, NASA)
- Thomas Marshburn (Pilot, NASA)
- Matthias Maurer (Mission Specialist 1, ESA)
- Kayla Barron (Mission Specialist 2, NASA)
IXPE | SpaceX | Falcon 9
Wednesday, November 17
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center or SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) exploits the polarization state of light from astrophysical sources to provide insight into our understanding of X-ray production in objects such as neutron stars and pulsar wind nebulae, as well as stellar and supermassive black holes.
DART | SpaceX | Falcon 9
Wednesday, November 24, 1:20 a.m. EDT
SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid. DART will be the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the motion of an asteroid in space.
Updates
- Launch time changed from 1:58 a.m. to 1:20 a.m. EDT.
CRS-24 | SpaceX | Falcon 9
Saturday, December 4
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
The upcoming launch of SpaceX’s 24th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA to the International Space Station. The fourth of NASA’s CRS-2 contract and with the Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft. Along with new experiments and additional supplies for the crew, 14 CubeSats will be deployed on this mission from universities, NASA Centers, and research centers worldwide.
MS-20 | Roscosmos | Soyuz [CREWED]
Wednesday, December 8
Site 31, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Russian’s MS-20 flight to the International Space Station will differ from previous missions as it won’t carry any crew members to take part in the current Expeditions. Instead, it will carry two paying space tourists, arranged through Space Adventures, for a 12 day stay on the station. One tourist is Yusaku Maezawa, who also holds a ticket to fly around the Moon on SpaceX’s Starship vehicle.
Crew
- Alexander Misurkin (Commander, Roscosmos)
- Yusaku Maezawa (Flight Participant 1, Space Adventures)
- Yozo Hiran0 (Flight Participant 2, Space Adventures)
James Webb Space Telescope | Arianespace | Ariane 5
Saturday, December 18, 7:20 a.m. EDT
ELA-3, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana
The joint NASA, ESA, and CSA telescope and long-awaited replacement to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope will take over NASA’s astrophysics missions once operational. The inferred telescope will reside in the L2 Lagrange point, meaning it will stay in the shadow of Earth. Webb will be the largest, most powerful, and complex space telescope built and launched into space.
Artemis I | NASA | Space Launch System
Sunday, December 26 (High Uncertainty)
LC-39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
NASA’s maiden launch of the Space Launch System will carry an Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to validate the launch and life support systems. If successful, this mission will put NASA on a path to return humanity to the Moon, this time to stay and land the first woman and person of color on another celestial body.
GOES-T | ULA | Atlas V
Saturday, January 8, 4:33 p.m. – 6:33 p.m. EDT
SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
GOES-T will be the third in a new line of upgraded weather satellites for the NOAA. The GOES series of satellites sit in geostationary orbit on monitor weather systems as they develop.
AX-1 | SpaceX | Falcon 9
Monday, February 21
LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Axiom’s first private mission to the International Space Station will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 and use the Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft will carry with it a former NASA astronaut and now Axiom VP as the commander and three highly successful businessmen to enjoy low Earth orbit and conduct their own experiments on the station. The most notable member of the crew, Eytan Stibbe, will be the second Israeli to go to space. The first being Ilan Ramon who perished in the Columbia Disaster.
Crew
- Michael López-Alegría (Commander, Axiom)
- Larry Connor (Pilot, Axiom)
- Mark Pathy (Mission Specialist, Axiom)
- Eytan Stibbe (Mission Specialist, Axiom)
