Space / NASA
Space launches, NASA missions, SpaceX events, and major astronomical announcements.
Upcoming Events
SpaceX Starship Flight 12 — First V3 Launch
First flight of Starship Version 3, pairing Booster 19 and Ship 39 with Raptor 3 engines. First Starship launch from the second pad at Starbase. Suborbital test flight.
ESA SMILE Mission Launch — Solar Wind Magnetosphere Study
European-Chinese SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) mission launches on a Vega-C rocket. Will use an X-ray camera to make the first X-ray observations of Earth's magnetic field and an ultraviolet camera to watch the northern lights for 45 hours at a time.
Venus-Jupiter Conjunction
Venus and Jupiter will appear strikingly close together in the western sky just after sunset, separated by only 1.5 degrees. One of the most spectacular planetary conjunctions of 2026, easily visible to the naked eye.
June Solstice 2026 — Summer Solstice
The June solstice marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official start of astronomical summer. The Sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky at 08:25 UTC.
SpaceX Starship Flight 13 — Second V3 Launch
The 13th test flight of the integrated Starship launch vehicle and the second flight of the V3 variant. Expected to be the second splashdown of a V3 Ship before the first V3 catch attempt on Flight 14.
China Tianwen-2 Arrives at Kamo'oalewa Asteroid
China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft reaches near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa after launching May 2025. Will spend 7 months studying the quasi-moon and collecting samples for return to Earth in 2027.
Soyuz MS-29 ISS Crew Launch
Soyuz MS-29 launches NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina to the International Space Station for a long-duration Expedition 75 mission.
Griffin Mission One (Moon Landing)
Astrobotic's Griffin lander mission to the Moon's South Pole as part of NASA's CLPS program. Launching on SpaceX Falcon Heavy to deliver the FLEX rover and scientific payloads to Nobile Crater region near Mons Mouton.
Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower Peak
The Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks with up to 20 meteors per hour. Best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, but also visible from the Northern Hemisphere in the hours before dawn.
Total Solar Eclipse — Iceland, Spain, Greenland
A total solar eclipse will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, and part of Portugal on August 12. A partial eclipse will be seen across Europe, Africa, and North America.
Perseid Meteor Shower Peak
The Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 13, 2026 during a new moon — ideal viewing conditions. Up to 100+ meteors per hour expected under dark skies.
China Chang'e 7 Lunar South Pole Mission Launch
China launches Chang'e 7 mission to explore the lunar south pole and search for water ice. Launches from Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan. Includes orbiter, lander, rover, and mini-flying probe.
Partial Lunar Eclipse — August 28
A partial lunar eclipse on August 28, 2026, visible from parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.
NASA SunRISE Mission Launch
NASA launches the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), a constellation of six CubeSats designed to study solar radio bursts and track solar energetic particle events. Launches as a rideshare on a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket.
ESA JUICE Earth Gravity Assist Flyby
ESA JUICE spacecraft performs an Earth gravity assist flyby on its journey to Jupiter, gaining velocity for its 2031 arrival at the Jupiter system to study ocean-bearing icy moons.
September Equinox 2026 — Autumn Equinox
The September equinox marks the official start of astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Day and night are approximately equal length worldwide. The Sun crosses the celestial equator moving southward at 00:06 UTC.
Neptune at Opposition
Neptune reaches opposition on September 26, appearing at its brightest and closest to Earth for the year. While too faint for the naked eye, it will be visible through binoculars or a telescope in the constellation Pisces.
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch
NASA's next great infrared space observatory launches on SpaceX Falcon Heavy to a point one million miles from Earth. Will study cosmology, dark energy, and search for exoplanets with a field of view 100 times greater than Hubble.
Saturn at Opposition
Saturn reaches opposition, appearing at its brightest and closest to Earth for the year. The ringed planet will be visible all night, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise — ideal for telescope viewing.
Draconid Meteor Shower Peak 2026
The Draconid meteor shower peaks on the evening of October 7. Unusually viewed best in early evening (not after midnight), it is produced by dust from comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner. Expect ~10 meteors per hour under dark skies.