Home calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & additional!

LAST UPDATED Aug. 30: These dates are subject to change, and is perhaps updated all yr lengthy as firmer dates come up. Please DO NOT schedule journey based mostly totally on a date you see proper right here. Launch dates are collected from NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, Spaceflight Now and others.

Watch NASA webcasts and completely different dwell launch safety on our “Watch Reside” net web page, and see our night sky webcasts proper right here. Uncover out what’s up throughout the night sky this month with our seen planets data and skywatching forecast. 

Questioning what occurred for the time being in space historic previous? Check out our “On This Day in Home” video current proper right here!

September

Sept. 3: Mercury reaches its highest degree throughout the night time sky. Shining at magnitude 0.1, the innermost planet is perhaps barely seen above the western horizon at sunset.

Sept. 3: Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov will take a spacewalk outdoor the Worldwide Home Station to begin outfitting the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 10:35 a.m. EDT (1435 GMT) and may remaining about 6 hours, 50 minutes.

Sept. 6: The new moon arrives at 8:52 p.m. EDT (0052 Sept. 7 GMT).

Sept. 9: Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov will take one different spacewalk outdoor the Worldwide Home Station to proceed outfitting the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) and may remaining about 5 hours.

Sept. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will go about 4 ranges to the north of Venus. Seek for the pair above the western horizon after sunset. 

Sept. 13: Mercury at greatest elongation east. The innermost planet will attain its greatest japanese separation from the photo voltaic, shining brightly at magnitude 0.1. Catch the elusive planet above the western horizon shortly after sunset.

Sept. 14: Neptune at opposition. The gasoline large will appear at its biggest and brightest of the yr, shining at magnitude 7.8. (You will have a telescope to see it.)

Sept. 14: Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into orbit for the OneWeb net constellation. The mission, often known as OneWeb 10, will elevate off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Sept. 15: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft to launch the first all-civilian orbital mission, typically referred to as Inspiration4. It ought to elevate off from Launch Sophisticated 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Home Coronary heart in Florida.

Sept. 16: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon will swing about 3 ranges to the south of Saturn throughout the night time sky. 

Sept. 18: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing gibbous moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Jupiter throughout the night time sky. 

Sept. 20: The whole moon of September, typically referred to as the Full Harvest Moon, occurs at 7:55 p.m. EDT (2355 GMT).

Sept. 22: The equinox arrives at 3:21 p.m. EDT (1921 GMT), marking the first day of autumn throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring throughout the Southern Hemisphere.

Sept. 23: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the NASA/USGS Landsat 9 satellite tv for pc television for computer from Vandenberg Home Stress Base in California, at 2:11 p.m. EDT (1811 GMT). 

Sept. 24: The waning gibbous moon and Uranus will make an in depth technique, passing inside 1.3 ranges of each other. Shining at magnitude 5.7, Uranus may be sensible ample to determine with the naked eye beneath darkish skies. 

Sept. 30: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Firm (JAXA) will use an Epsilon rocket to launch the Speedy Progressive Payload Demonstration Satellite tv for pc television for computer 2 (RAISE 2), a technology demonstration mission, from the Uchinoura Home Coronary heart at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 Oct. 1 GMT).

Moreover scheduled to launch in September (from Spaceflight Now):

  • Rocket Lab will use an Electron rocket to launch two Earth assertion satellites for the Seattle-based agency BlackSky Worldwide’s deliberate constellation. The mission, nicknamed “Love At First Notion,” will elevate off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. This might be the primary in a speedy succession of three BlackSky launches by Rocket Lab scheduled to launch in September.
  • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch one different batch of Starlink net satellites from Vandenberg Home Stress Base in California.
  • China will launch the Tianzhou 3 cargo resupply ship to the Chinese language language space station. It ought to elevate off on a Prolonged March 7 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Website online in Hainan, China. 
  • Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket to launch the SES 17 and Syracuse 4A communications satellites from the Guiana Home Coronary heart near Kourou, French Guiana.

October

Oct. 5: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-19 crew capsule to the Worldwide Home Station with Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and two space vacationers: Russian film director Klim Shipenko and Russian actress Yulia Peresild, who plan to film a movie whereas spending one week in space. (The two filmmakers are scheduled to return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule.)

Oct. 6: The new moon arrives at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT)

Oct. 8: The Draconid meteor bathe, which is vigorous Oct. 6-10, will peak in a single day.

Oct. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will go about 3 ranges to the north of Venus. Seek for the pair above the western horizon after sunset. 

Oct. 14: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing gibbous moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Saturn throughout the night time sky. 

Oct. 15: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing gibbous moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Jupiter throughout the night time sky. 

Oct. 16: NASA will launch its Lucy mission to examine the Trojan asteroids. It ought to elevate off from Kennedy Home Coronary heart in Florida on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket

Oct. 20: The whole moon of October, typically referred to as the Full Hunter’s Moon, occurs at 10:57 a.m. EDT (1457 GMT). 

Oct. 21: The waning gibbous moon and Uranus will make an in depth technique, passing inside 1.3 ranges of each other. Shining at magnitude 5.7, Uranus may be sensible ample to determine with the naked eye beneath darkish skies.

Oct. 21-22: The annual Orionid meteor bathe, which is vigorous all month prolonged, peaks in a single day.

Oct. 24: Mercury at greatest elongation west. The innermost planet will attain its greatest western separation from the photo voltaic, shining brightly at magnitude -0.6. Catch the elusive planet above {the japanese} horizon shortly sooner than daybreak. The subsequent day (Oct. 25) Mercury will attain its highest degree throughout the morning sky.

Oct. 28: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress 79 cargo resupply spacecraft to the Worldwide Home Station. It ought to elevate off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Oct. 31: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-3 mission, the third operational astronaut flight to the Worldwide Home Station. On board is perhaps NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn, and European Home Firm astronaut Matthias Maurer. (The fourth crewmember has not however been launched). It ought to elevate off from Launch Sophisticated 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Home Coronary heart in Florida.

Moreover scheduled to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now):

  • China will launch three astronauts to the Chinese language language space station on the Shenzhou 13 mission, which may launch on a Prolonged March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite tv for pc television for computer Launch Coronary heart throughout the Gobi Desert.
  • A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 44 mission for the U.S. Air Stress. The mission will elevate off from NASA’s Kennedy Home Coronary heart in Florida and is anticipated to deploy two undisclosed payloads into geosynchronous orbit.
  • The Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule will return to Earth from the Worldwide Home Station with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, along with two space vacationers: Russian film director Klim Shipenko and a (not-yet-named) Russian actress, who can have arrived on the Soyuz MS-19 mission in September and plan to film a movie in space.
  • Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into orbit for the OneWeb net constellation. The mission, often known as OneWeb 11, will elevate off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
  • The Japan Aerospace Exploration Firm (JAXA) will use an H-2A rocket to launch a substitute satellite tv for pc television for computer for the nation’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite tv for pc television for computer System, a regional GPS system. Dubbed QZS 1R, the satellite tv for pc television for computer will elevate off from the Tanegashima Home Coronary heart in late October.

November

Nov. 2-3: The annual South Taurid meteor bathe peaks in a single day. Full of life from mid-September to mid-November, the Southern Taurids hardly produce larger than 5 seen meteors per hour, nonetheless the nearly-new moon must make them less complicated to determine in opposition to a darkish sky. 

Nov. 4: The new moon arrives at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT).

Nov. 4: Uranus is at opposition, which implies it’s going to appear at its biggest and brightest of the yr. Shining at magnitude 5.7, the planet is perhaps seen all night prolonged throughout the constellation Aries. Uranus may be to the naked eye from darkish locations nonetheless is biggest seen by a telescope or binoculars. 

Nov. 7: Daylight Saving Time ends. Flip your clocks once more one hour at 2 a.m. native time. 

Nov. 8: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will go about 1 diploma to the north of Venus. Seek for the pair above the western horizon after sunset. Skywatchers in parts of Jap Asia will see the moon occult Venus, which implies it’s going to briefly go in entrance of the planet, blocking it from sight.

Nov. 10: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Saturn throughout the night time sky. 

Nov. 11: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The first-quarter moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Jupiter throughout the night time sky.

Nov. 11-12: The annual North Taurid meteor bathe peaks in a single day. The bathe, which is vigorous from late October to mid-December, is simply not anticipated to provide larger than a handful of seen “taking footage stars” per hour.

Nov. 16-17: A number of the anticipated meteor showers of the yr, the Leonid meteor bathe peaks in a single day. The Leonids are anticipated to provide about 15 meteors per hour on the night of the peak, nonetheless the bathe is vigorous all month prolonged. 

Nov. 17: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) from Launch Sophisticated 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Home Coronary heart in Florida.

Nov. 19: The whole moon of November, typically referred to as the Full Beaver Moon, occurs at 3:58 a.m. EST (0858 GMT). 

Nov. 19: A partial lunar eclipse is perhaps seen from North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. The moon will enter Earth’s faint outer shadow, typically referred to as the penumbra, at 1:02 a.m. EDT (0602 GMT). The partial eclipse, when the moon will darken additional noticeably, begins at 2:18 a.m. EDT (0718 GMT). Most eclipse occurs at 4:02 a.m. EDT (0902 GMT). Your total event will remaining about six hours. 

Nov. 24: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Check out (DART) mission from Vandenberg Air Stress Base in California, at 1:58 a.m. EST (0658 GMT).

Moreover scheduled to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now):

  • Starliner OFT-2: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its second uncrewed mission to the Worldwide Home Station no earlier than November 2020. The Orbital Flight Check out 2 (OFT-2) mission will elevate off from Home Launch Sophisticated 41 at Cape Canaveral Home Stress Station in Florida. Reside updates 
  • NASA’s James Webb Home Telescope is scheduled to lift off in late November from the Guiana Home Coronary heart in Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 ECA rocket. 
  • An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch two satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. It ought to elevate off from the Guiana Home Coronary heart near Kourou, French Guiana. 
  • Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 34 satellites into orbit for the OneWeb net constellation. The mission, often known as OneWeb 12, will elevate off from the Guiana Home Coronary heart near Kourou, French Guiana.

December

Dec. 4: The one entire picture voltaic eclipse of the yr (and the ultimate entire picture voltaic eclipse until 2023) is perhaps seen from Antarctica. Skywatchers in South Africa, Namibia, the southern tip of South America and some islands throughout the South Atlantic can be able to see at least a partial picture voltaic eclipse, with the moon blocking a portion of the photo voltaic from view. 

Dec. 4: The new moon arrives at 2:44 a.m. EST (0744 GMT).

Dec. 4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon cargo resupply mission (CRS-24) to the Worldwide Home Station. It ought to elevate off from Launch Sophisticated 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Home Coronary heart in Florida.

Dec. 6: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will go about 2 ranges to the north of Venus. Seek for the pair above the western horizon after sunset.

Dec. 7: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the GOES-T local weather satellite tv for pc television for computer for NASA and NOAA. It ought to elevate off from Cape Canaveral Home Stress Station in Florida, at 4:40 p.m. EST (2140 GMT). 

Dec. 7: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Saturn throughout the night time sky. 

Dec. 8: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-20 crew capsule to the Worldwide Home Station with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and video producer Yozo Hirano. 

Dec. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 ranges to the south of Jupiter throughout the night time sky.

Dec. 13-14: The annual Geminid meteor bathe, among the many greatest meteor showers of the yr, peaks in a single day. The Geminids are vigorous Dec. 4-17 sometimes produce as a lot as 50 seen meteors per hours, nonetheless this yr the 78% full moon will outshine the fainter meteors. 

Dec. 18: The whole moon of December, typically referred to as the Full Chilly Moon, occurs at 11:37 p.m. EST (0437 Dec. 19 GMT).

Dec. 21: The solstice arrives at 10:59 a.m. EST (1559 GMT), marking the first day of winter throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer season throughout the Southern Hemisphere. 

Dec. 21-22: The annual Ursid meteor bathe peaks in a single day. Often vigorous spherical Dec. 17-26, the Ursids produce about 5 to 10 seen meteors per hour on the morning of the peak.

Moreover scheduled to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now):

  • SpaceX will launch the Transporter 3 rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Home Stress Station in Florida. 

Further coming in 2021…

TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the STP-3 rideshare mission for the U.S. Home Stress. It ought to elevate off from Cape Canaveral Home Stress Station in Florida.

TBD: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the USSF-8 mission for the Home Stress’s Geosynchronous Home Situational Consciousness Program (GSSAP). It ought to elevate off from Home Launch Sophisticated 41 at Cape Canaveral Home Stress Station in Florida.

TBD: India’s Polar Satellite tv for pc television for computer Launch Automobile (PSLV) will launch the Indian RISAT 1A radar Earth assertion satellite tv for pc television for computer from the Satish Dhawan Home Coronary heart in Sriharikota, India.

This autumn: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Experience Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission to the moon from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.

This autumn: India’s Small Satellite tv for pc television for computer Launch Automobile (SSLV) will launch on its first orbital check out flight from the Satish Dhawan Home Coronary heart in Sriharikota, India. The mission was delayed from April 2021.

This autumn: India’s Small Satellite tv for pc television for computer Launch Automobile (SSLV) will launch its first industrial mission with 4 Earth assertion satellites for the Seattle-based agency BlackSky Worldwide. It ought to elevate off from the Satish Dhawan Home Coronary heart in Sriharikota, India.

This autumn: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Turksat 5B communications satellite tv for pc television for computer from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

This autumn: An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch three CERES satellites for the French military. (CERES stands for “Capacité de Renseignement d’origine Electromagnétique Spatiale,” which interprets to “Intelligence Functionality of Home Electromagnetic Origin.”) The mission will elevate off from the Guiana Spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana.

Please ship any corrections, updates or beneficial calendar additions to hweitering@space.com. Adjust to Home.com for the latest in space science and exploration data on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Fb.

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