Events Search and Views Navigation
November 2019
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 »Inmarsat 5 F5 Ariane 5 Launch
Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA250, to launch the Inmarsat 5 F5 communications satellite and a co-passenger to be confirmed. Built by Thales Alenia Space, the Inmarsat 5 F5 satellite is owned by Inmarsat of London. Inmarsat 5 F5 will be the fourth satellite in Inmarsat’s Global Xpress network. Arianespace is expected to select and announce a co-passenger for this mission. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Gonets M Rockot Launch
A Russian government Rockot vehicle with a Breeze KM upper stage will launch three Gonets M communications satellites. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »ELaNa-20 LauncherOne Launch
A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket will launch on its second flight after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet. The flight will be conducted under contract to NASA’s Venture Class Launch Services Program, carrying 14 CubeSats to orbit for NASA field centers, U.S. educational institutions and laboratories on the ELaNa-20 rideshare mission. Launch site: Cosmic Girl (Boeing 747), Mojave Air and Space Port, California Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Starlink 3 Falcon 9 Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the fourth batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 3. Launch date: NET November 2019 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »December 2019
SpaceX CRS-19 Falcon 9 Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 21st Dragon spacecraft mission on its 19th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The flight is being conducted under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »SpaceX CRS 19 Falcon 9 Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 21st Dragon spacecraft mission on its 19th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The flight is being conducted under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Progress 74P Soyuz Launch
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 74th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »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 »CSG 1 & CHEOPS Soyuz Launch
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket, designated VS23, will launch on a mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry the first COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG 1, radar surveillance satellite for ASI, the Italian space agency. The European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite, or CHEOPS, will fly as a secondary payload on the mission. Built by Airbus Defense and Space in Spain with a Swiss-developed science instrument, CHEOPS will observe transits of planets around other stars…
Find out more »OneWeb 2 Soyuz Launch
A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch approximately 32 satellites into orbit for OneWeb, which is developing a constellation of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit for low-latency broadband communications. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Launch time: TBD
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 »Elektro-L 3 Proton Launch
A Russian government Proton rocket and Block DM upper stage will launch the Elektro-L 3 geostationary weather satellite. Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Chang’e 5 Long March 5 Launch
A Chinese Long March 5 rocket will launch the Chang’e 5 mission to return samples from the moon. It is the first lunar sample return mission attempted since 1976. Launch date: Late 2019 Launch window: TBD
Find out more »Shijian 20 Long March 5 Launch
A Chinese Long March 5 rocket will launch the Shijian 20 communications satellite. Shijian 20 is the first spacecraft based on the new DFH-5 communications satellite platform, a heavier, higher-power next-generation design, replacing the Shijian 18 satellite lost on a launch failure in 2017. Launch date: TBD Launch time: TBD
Find out more »CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test Atlas V Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-080, will launch Boeing’s first CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on an unpiloted Orbital 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 after an orbital shakedown cruise ahead of a two-person Crew Test Flight. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket boosters and a dual-engine Centaur upper stage. Launch date: TBD…
Find out more »SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo 2 (DM-2) Falcon 9 Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its first test flight with astronauts on-board to the International Space Station under the auspices of NASA’s commercial crew program. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will fly on the Demo-2 mission. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Launch date: Late 2019 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Angara-A5 Orbital Test Flight
A Russian government Angara-A5 rocket will launch on its second orbital test flight. Launch date: December 2019 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »CBERS 4A Long March 4B
A Chinese Long March 4B rocket will launched the CBERS 4A remote sensing satellite. CBERS 4A is the fifth China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite for the collection of global imagery for environmental, urban planning and agricultural applications. Launch date: Late 2019 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Demonstration Launch SSLV Launch
India’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital test flight. Consisting of three solid-fueled stages and a liquid-fueled upper stage, the SSLV is a new Indian launch vehicle designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. Launch date: TBD Launch time: TBD
Find out more »