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July 2020
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.
Find out more »September 2023
OSIRIS-REx Sample Returns to Earth
OSIRIS-REx sample from asteroid Bennu returns to Earth today!
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