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Launch Calendar 2019 |Wild Side

Space Launch Calendar 2019: Sky Events, Missions & More

By   Spaceflight 

LAST UPDATED Aug. 5: These dates are subject to change, and will be updated throughout the year as firmer dates arise. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on a date you see here. Launch dates collected from NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, Spaceflight Now and others.

Watch NASA webcasts and other live launch coverage on our “Watch Live” page, and see our night sky webcasts here. (You can also watch NASA TV live via nasa.gov or YouTube.)

Find out what’s up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide and skywatching forecast. Spot the International Space Station, Hubble Space Telescope and other satellites in the sky above with this satellite tracker.

Wondering what happened today in space history, check out our On This Day in Space video show here!

Aug. 5: A Russian Proton rocket will launch the Blagovest No. 14L communications satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:55 p.m. EDT (2155 GMT).

Aug. 6: A Cygnus cargo spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT). [Watch Live]

Aug. 6: Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 rocket to launch the Intelsat 39 communications satellite for SSL and the EDRS-C communications satellite for OHB System AG. It will launch from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT). [Watch Live]

Aug. 6: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Amos 17 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:52-8:20 p.m. EDT (2252-0020 GMT). [Watch Live]

Aug. 8: United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF 5) satellite for the U.S. military at 5:50-7:50 a.m. EDT (0950-1150 GMT). [Watch Live]

Aug. 9: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The gas giant will meet up with the moon in the evening sky. At 6:53 p.m. EDT (2253 GMT), the moon will be about 2 degrees to the north of Jupiter.

Aug. 12: Moon occults Saturn. The moon will pass in front of the ringed planet for skywatchers in Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia. Meanwhile, skywatchers in other parts of the world will see the two bodies make a close approach, or a conjunction.

Aug. 13: The Perseid meteor shower peaks.

Aug. 15: Full Moon. The “Sturgeon Moon” will reach full phase at 8:29 a.m. EDT (1229 GMT).

Aug. 19: NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan will take a spacewalk outside the International Space Station beginning at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT). [Watch Live]

Aug. 21: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 GMT on Aug. 22). Rather than delivering a crew to the International Space Station, as Soyuz spacecraft are designed to do, this Soyuz will be used to test a newly modified launch abort system.

Aug. 22: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the second GPS 3 satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT).

Aug. 24: The unpiloted Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will dock at the International Space Station at 1:31 a.m. EDT (0531 GMT).

Also scheduled to launch in August (from Spaceflight Now): 

  • A Russian Rockot vehicle will launch a GEO-IK 2 spacecraft satellite that will measure variations in Earth’s gravitational field. It will lift off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome

September

Sept. 1: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket will launch 14 cubesats for the ELaNa-20 rideshare mission. A Boeing 747 named “Cosmic Girl” will air-launch the rocket over the Pacific Ocean after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Sept. 2: An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch on the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) proof-of-concept mission with multiple small satellites from Kourou, French Guiana.

Sept. 6: India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission will arrive at the moon.

Sept. 10: Japan will launch the HTV-8 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. It will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a Japanese H-2B rocket at 5:33 p.m. EDT (2133 GMT).

Sept. 14: Full Moon. The “Harvest Moon” will reach full phase at 12:33 a.m. EDT (0433 GMT).

Sept. 23: Equinox. Today is the first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sept. 25: Three new Expedition 61 crewmembers will launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft: NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates. They will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz rocket.

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

  • The Boeing CST-100 Starliner may launch on its first uncrewed mission, called the Orbital Flight Test (OFT), to the International Space Station. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
  • NASA aims to launch the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission after extensive delays caused by problems with the Pegasus XL rocket.–

October

Oct. 3: NASA astronaut Nick Hague, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates will return to Earth from the International Space Station.

Oct. 13: Full Moon. The “Hunter’s Moon” will reach full phase at 5:08 p.m. EDT (2108 GMT).

Oct. 15: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch the first COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG 1) radar surveillance satellite for the Italian space agency. Flying as a secondary payload is the European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS). The mission will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.

Oct. 19: Northrop Grumman will launch the Cygnus NG-12 cargo mission to the International Space Station. It will lift off from Wallops Island, Virginia on an Antares rocket.

Oct. 21-22: The Orionid meteor shower peaks.

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

  • India will launch the first Cartosat 3-series Earth observation satellite.

November

Nov. 2: Moon occults Saturn. The moon will pass in front of the ringed planet for skywatchers in New Zealand. Meanwhile, skywatchers in other parts of the world will see the two bodies make a close approach, or a conjunction. 
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Nov. 3: Daylight saving time ends. Set your clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. — and maybe enjoy an extra hour of sleep!

Nov. 11-12: Mercury transits the sun. Skywatchers (wearing proper eye protection) can see the small planet Mercury pass in front of the sun.

Nov. 12: Full Moon. The “Beaver Moon” will reach full phase at 8:34 a.m. EDT (1334 GMT).

Nov. 17-18: The Leonid meteor shower peaks.

Nov. 20: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch 32 satellites for OneWeb’s global satellite internet constellation. It will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Nov. 20: Russia will use a Proton rocket to launch the Elektro-L 3 geostationary weather satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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

  • Boeing‘s CST-100 Starliner will launch on its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station.
  • Crew Dragon Demo 2: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to take its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board. This will be the Crew Dragon’s first test flight with astronauts on board following the uncrewed Demo-1 mission in March.
  • An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch the United Arab Emirates’ Falcon Eye 2 Earth observation satellite from Kourou, French Guiana.

December

Dec. 12: Full Moon. The “Cold Moon” will reach full phase at 12:12 a.m. EDT (0512 GMT).

Dec. 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks.

Dec. 20: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch a Progress cargo delivery spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Dec. 21-22: The Ursid meteor shower peaks.

Dec. 25-26: An annular solar eclipse will be visible from the Arabian Peninsula to Indonesia. A partial solar eclipse will be visible across much of Asia, the Middle East, Australia and western Africa.

Also scheduled to launch in December (from Spaceflight Now):

  • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third GPS 3 satellite for the U.S. Air Force’s Global Positioning System from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
  • The U.S. Air Force’s super-secret X-37B space plane will launch on its sixth classified mission. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

More coming in 2019…

  • China will launch the Chang’e 5 mission to return samples from the moon. It will be the first lunar sample return mission attempted since 1976.
  • An International Launch Services Proton rocket will launch the Eutelsat 5 West B communications satellite and the first Mission Extension Vehicle for Northrop Grumman.

Please send any corrections, updates or suggested calendar additions to hweitering@space.com. Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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