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June 2021
SBIRS GEO Flight 5 Atlas 5 Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the U.S. military’s fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite, or SBIRS GEO 5, for missile early-warning detection. The rocket will fly in the 421 vehicle configuration with a four-meter fairing, two solid rocket boosters, and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. Launch date: 2nd quarter 2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »USSF 44 Falcon Heavy Launch
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 44 mission for the U.S. Air Force. The mission is expected to deploy two undisclosed payloads into geosynchronous orbit. Launch date: 2nd quarter 2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »NROL-82 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: 2nd quarter 2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Turksat 5B Falcon 9 Launch
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Turksat 5B communications satellite for Turksat, a Turkish satellite operator. Built by Airbus Defense and Space with significant Turkish contributions, the Turksat 5B satellite will provide broadband services over a wide coverage area, including Turkey, the Middle East and large regions of Africa. Launch date: June 2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test Atlas 5 Launch
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket 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. Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson and NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann will fly on the Crew Flight Test. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket…
Find out more »Galileo 27 & 28 Soyuz Launch
An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch on a mission from the Guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry two Galileo full operational capability satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. The Soyuz-2.1b (Soyuz ST-B) rocket will use a Fregat upper stage. Launch date: Mid-2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »Progress 78P Soyuz Launch
A Russian government Soyuz rocket will launch the 78th Progress cargo delivery ship to the International Space Station. The rocket will fly in the Soyuz-2.1a configuration. Launch date: Mid-2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »LARES 2 Vega C Launch
An Arianespace Vega C rocket will launch the LARES 2 satellite for ASI, the Italian space agency. The spherical LARES 2 satellite is covered in laser mirrors to enable precise tracking from the ground, enabling research into geoodynamics and general relativity. This will mark the inaugural flight of Europe’s new Vega C rocket, featuring a more powerful first stage motor, an enlarged second stage, an improved liquid-fueled upper stage, and a new payload fairing design Launch date: Mid-2021 Launch time:…
Find out more »August 2021
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 2021
WorldView Legion 1 & 2 Falcon 9 Launch
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 two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Launch date: September 2021 Launch time: TBD
Find out more »October 2021
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 2021
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 2021
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 »January 2022
Anniversary of Chang’e 3 Launch (2013)
Fifth anniversary of the launch of China's moon lander and rover, Chang'e, in 2013. More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_3
Find out more »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.
Find out more »Anniversary of Pioneer 10’s Jupiter Flyby (1973)
More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10#Encounter_with_Jupiter
Find out more »Anniversary of Pioneer Venus 1’s Venus Orbit Insertion (1978)
More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Venus_Orbiter
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