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March 2020
AEHF 6 Atlas 5 Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will provide highly-secure communications. The rocket will fly in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Launch date: March 2020 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »April 2020
Progress 75P Soyuz Launch
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 75th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Lyrid Meteor Shower Peak (Lyrids)
The April Lyrids (LYR, IAU shower number 6) are a meteor shower lasting from April 16 to April 26 each year. The radiant of the meteor shower is located in the constellation Lyra, near this constellation's brightest star, Alpha Lyrae (proper name Vega). Their peak is typically around April 22 each year.
Find out more »AFSPC 7/OTV-6 Atlas V Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the AFSPC 7 mission for the U.S. Air Force. The mission’s primary payload is the X-37B, a spaceplane also called the Orbital Test Vehicle, on the program’s sixth mission. The rocket will fly in the 501 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, no solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from December. Launch date: 2nd Quarter 2020 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »May 2020
Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower Peak (Eta Aquarids)
(Photo by Rocky Raybell) The Eta Aquarids are a meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet. The shower is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with peak activity on or around May 6. Unlike most major annual meteor showers, there is no sharp peak for this shower, but rather a plateau of good rates that last approximately one week centered on May 7. The meteors we currently see as members of the Eta Aquariid shower separated from…
Find out more »GPS 3 SV04 Falcon 9 Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s fourth third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin. Launch date: May 2020 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »June 2020
NROL-44 Delta 4-Heavy Launch
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. Launch date: June 2019 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »July 2020
Progress 76P Soyuz Launch
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 76th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Mars 2020 Atlas 5 Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch NASA’s Mars 2020 rover to the Red Planet. After landing in February 2021, the Mars 2020 rover will study Martian geology, search for organic compounds, demonstrate the ability to generate oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and collect rock samples for return to Earth by a future mission. The rocket will fly in the 541 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, four solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Launch…
Find out more »August 2020
Perseid Meteor Shower Peak (Perseids)
The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle. The Perseids are so called because the point from which they appear to come, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Perseus. The stream of debris is called the Perseid cloud and stretches along the orbit of the comet Swift–Tuttle. The cloud consists of particles ejected by the comet as it travels on its 133-year orbit. Most of the particles have been part of the cloud for around a thousand…
Find out more »September 2020
NROL-101 Atlas 5 Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket will fly in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. This will be the first launch of an Atlas 5 rocket with new Northrop Grumman-built GEM-63 solid rocket motors, replacing the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket motors used on previous Atlas 5s. Launch date: 3rd Quarter 2020 Launch…
Find out more »NROL-82 Delta 4-Heavy
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. Launch date: September 2020 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »October 2020
Draconid Meteor Shower Peak (Draconids)
The October Draconids are a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The Draconids are best viewed after sunset in an area with a clear dark sky. The 1933 and 1946 Draconids had Zenithal Hourly Rates of thousands of meteors visible per hour, among the most impressive meteor storms of the 20th century. Rare outbursts in activity can occur when the Earth travels through a denser part of the cometary debris stream; for example, in 1998, rates suddenly spiked and spiked…
Find out more »Orionid Meteor Shower Peak (Orionids)
The Orionid meteor shower, usually shortened to the Orionids, is the most prolific meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet.
Find out more »November 2020
Taurid Meteor Shower Peak (Southern Taurids)
(Photo by Channone Arif) The Southern Taurids are an annual meteor shower associated with the comet Encke. They are named after their radiant point in the constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky. Because of their occurrence in late October and early November, they are also called Halloween fireballs. Typically, Taurids appear at a rate of about 5 per hour, moving slowly across the sky at about 17 miles per second (27 kilometers per second), or…
Find out more »Taurid Meteor Shower Peak (Northern Taurids)
(Photo by Mike Lewinski) The Taurids are an annual meteor shower associated with the comet Encke. They are named after their radiant point in the constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky. Typically, Taurids appear at a rate of about 5 per hour, moving slowly across the sky at about 17 miles per second (27 kilometers per second), or 65,000 miles per hour. If larger than a pebble, these meteors may become bolides as bright as the…
Find out more »December 2020
Geminid Meteor Shower Peak (Geminids)
The meteors from this shower are slow moving. The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00 to 03:00 local time.
Find out more »Ursid Meteor Shower Peak (Ursids)
The Ursid (URS) meteor shower is named for its radiant point which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) in the constellation Ursa Minor. The Ursids are associated with Comet 8P/Tuttle, also sometimes known as Mechain-Tuttle's Comet. Peak meteor shower activity: December 21-22
Find out more »NROL-111 Minotaur 1 Launch
A U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman Minotaur 1 rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Launch date: TBD Launch time: TBD
Find out more »January 2021
Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peak (Quadrantids)
The Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the year's best, often producing more than 100 meteors per hour from a radiant near the North Star.
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