LAST UPDATED June 2: 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. Please send any corrections, updates or suggested calendar additions to hweitering@space.com.
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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 .
June
June 2: 8th annual Astronomy Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. — See the sun, moon, Saturn, and Jupiter at the largest astronomy event on the National Mall. The free stargazing event is open to the public and runs from 6 to 11 p.m. local time.
June 3: A NASA sounding rocket will release blue-green and red vapor into the sky, visible from New York to North Carolina and as far west as Charlottesville, Virginia.
June 3: SpaceX will launch the first used Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:07 p.m. EDT (2107 GMT).
June 3: The 10th annual World Science Festival will host a free, public stargazing event in Brooklyn Bridge Park . (7-11 p.m. EDT)
June 5: The arrival of SpaceX’s Dragon CRS-11 cargo craft at the International Space Station will air live on NASA TV starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). Capture is scheduled for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).
June 4-8: 230th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) (Austin, Texas)
June 5: India‘s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mk.3) mission will launch its first orbital test flight with the GSAT-19E experimental communications satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in India at 7:27 a.m. EDT (1127 GMT).
June 7: NASA will announce the new members of the astronaut corps at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). [Preview | Watch Live ]
June 9: The full moon of June occurs at 9:09 a.m. EDT (1309 GMT). [How to See the Strawberry Minimoon ]
June 13: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
June 13: Russia’s Progress 66 cargo ship will undock from the International Space Station’s Pirs docking module and fall back toward Earth, burning up in the atmosphere along the way.
June 14: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress 67 cargo ship to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:20 a.m. EDT (0920 GMT).
June 15: Saturn will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This will be the best time to view Saturn and its moons .
June 15: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the BulgariaSat-1 communications satellite from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
June 16: Russia’s Progress 67 cargo ship will arrive at the International Space Station at 7:41 a.m. EDT (1141 GMT)
June 20: The Cygnus cargo spacecraft OA-7 will undock from the International Space Station, stuffed with non-recyclable waste, and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
June 20-24: First Annual Spaceport America Cup – The international intercollegiate rocket engineering competition takes place at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
June 25: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 10 satellites for the Iridium NEXT (11-20) mobile communications fleet from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:24 p.m. EDT (2024 GMT).
June 27-29: NewSpace 2017 Conference in San Francisco. Private and commercial space industry experts will converge on San Francisco, California for the annual NewSpace conference.
June 28: Arianespace will launch an Ariane 5 rocket (VA238) with the Inmarsat S-band/Hellas-Sat 3 and GSAT-17 communications satellites from Kourou, French Guiana. Launch window: 5:45-6:30 p.m. EDT (2145-2230 GMT)
Also slated to launch in June (from Spaceflight Now ):
- An International Launch Services Proton rocket will deploy the EchoStar 21 communications satellite (formerly known as TerreStar 2) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
- A Eurockot Rockot launch vehicle with the Sentinel-5 Precursor Earth observation satellite will launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.
- A Chinese Long March 5 rocket will launch the Shijian 18 communications satellite from Wenchang, China.
- India will launch its Cartosat 2E high-resolution Earth observation satellite and a collection of smaller secondary payloads on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-38) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center.
July
July 1: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Intelsat 35e communications satellite from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at approximately 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT).
July 3: Happy Aphelion Day! Earth is farthest from the sun for the year today at a distance of 94,505,901 miles (152,092,505 km).
July 9: The full moon of July, known as the Full Buck Moon, will occur at 12:07 a.m. EDT (1707 GMT). This full moon is also called the Thunder Moon.
July 14: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Kanopus-V-IK infrared Earth observation satellite along with Russia’s Zond solar research satellite and multiple small spacecraft from U.S. companies from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:36 a.m. EDT (0636 GMT).
July 15: Orbital ATK will launch a Minotaur IV rocket on a historic mission for the U.S. military’s Operationally Responsive Space program (ORS-5) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at approximately 1 a.m. EDT (0500 GMT).
July 17-20: International Space Station Research & Development Conference (Washington, D.C.)
July 21: The new sci-fi film, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets ” will be released in movie theaters worldwide.
July 25: An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch with the Optsat-3000 high-resolution reconnaissance satellite from Kourou, French Guiana.
July 28: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the Expedition 52/53 crew, including Randy Bresnik of NASA, Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:41 a.m. EDT (1541 GMT).
July 28-29: The Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks overnight on Friday, July 28. Delta Aquarid meteors will be visible from July 12 to Aug. 23.
Also slated to launch in July (from Spaceflight Now ):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SES-11/EchoStar 105 hybrid communications satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Koreasat 5A communications satellite for KTsat based in South Korea from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- Sometime this quarter (July–Sept.) SpaceX will launch the Falcon Heavy rocket for its first demonstration flight.
August
Aug. 1: SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft on the 12th cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station (CRS-12) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Aug. 2: Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazansky will go for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS Russian EVA-43).
Aug. 3: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch NASA’s TDRS-M communications and data relay satellite at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Aug. 7: The full moon of August, also known at the Full Sturgeon Moon, will occur on Monday, Aug. 7 at 2:11 p.m. EDT (1911 GMT). A partial lunar eclipse will coincide with this full moon and can be seen from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Aug. 7-9: National Astronomy Teaching Summit Conference (Ft. Meyers, Florida)
Aug. 12-13: One of the brightest meteor showers of the year, the Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of Saturday, Aug. 12 and the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 13. A waning gibbous moon may hamper the view of the meteor shower’s peak this year. Perseid meteors will appear in the sky from July 17 to Aug. 24. [When, Where & How to See It ]
Aug. 14: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-42) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Aug. 21: The “Great American Total Solar Eclipse ” will sweep across the United States on Monday, Aug. 21. The moon will pass before the sun, first casting its shadow over Oregon that will move across the country all the way to South Carolina. Viewers across the continental U.S. who are outside the path of totality will still be able to see the eclipse in its partial form. [Total Solar Eclipse 2017: Path, Viewing Maps and Photo Guide ]
Aug. 31: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-52) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Also slated to launch in August (from Spaceflight Now ):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 10 satellites for the Iridium NEXT (21-30) mobile communications fleet from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
September
Sept. 6: The full moon of September will occur on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 3:03 a.m. EDT (0803 GMT). September’s full moon is known as the Full Harvest Moon.
Sept. 13: Expedition 53/54 crewmembers Mark Vande Hei of NASA and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch atop a Russian Soyuz rocket on a mission to the International Space Station.
Sept. 15: NASA’s Cassini orbiter will plunge into Saturn , ending a nearly 20-year mission.
Sept. 17-22: European Planetary Science Congress 2017 (Riga, Latvia)
Sept. 21: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will launch the first spacecraft in the Joint Polar Satellite System, NOAA’s next-generation series of polar-orbiting weather observatories. Launch window: 5:47:03-5:48:06 a.m. EDT (0947:03-0948:06 GMT)
Sept. 23: A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will launch the first spacecraft in the Joint Polar Satellite System , NOAA’s next-generation series of polar-orbiting weather observatories.
Also slated to launch in September (from Spaceflight Now ):
- An Orbital ATK Minotaur-C rocket will launch six SkySat Earth observation satellites for Google/Skybox Imaging.
October
Oct. 1: An Orbital ATK Antares rocket will launch the Cygnus cargo spacecraft (OA-8) to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia.
Oct. 5: The full moon of October occurs on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 2:40 p.m. EDT (1940 GMT). It is also known as the Full Hunter’s Moon.
Oct.: The Draconid meteor shower will peak on Sunday, Oct. 8. Draconid meteors will appear Oct. 6-10 and are best viewed in the early evening hours.
Oct.: The U.S. military will launch its fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite aboard an Atlas 5 rocket provided by the United Launch Alliance. It will launch from pad SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Oct. 12: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the 68th Progress cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station.
Oct. 15: Occultation of Regulus – The brightest star in the constellation Leo will be covered by a crescent moon in the early morning of Sunday, Oct. 15. The occultation will be visible from the United States and the Caribbean.
Oct. 18: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Oct. 19: Uranus will be at opposition in its closest approach to Earth, and the planet’s face will be fully illuminated by the sun. This the best time to observe Uranus, though a telescope is required to do so.
Oct. 21-22: The Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of Friday, Oct. 20 and the early morning of Saturday, Oct. 21. Orionid meteors will be visible from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7.
Oct. 26: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch a crewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the Expedition 54/55 crew: Scott Tingle of NASA, Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Oct. 27: An Atlas 5 rocket provided by the United Launch Alliance will launch the U.S. military’s fourth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous satellite (SBIRS GEO 4) for missile early-warning detection.
Also slated to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now ):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 15th Dragon spacecraft on the 13th operational cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station (CRS-13) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
November
Nov. 4: The full moon of November will occur on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 12:23 a.m. EDT (0523 GMT). It is also known as the Full Beaver Moon.
Nov. 4-5: The Taurid meteor shower will peak on the night of Saturday, Nov. 4 and the early morning of Sunday, Nov. 5. Taurid meteors will be visible from Sep. 7 to Dec. 10. This is a minor meteor shower with 5-10 meteors per hour, and light from the full moon may obstruct the view during the meteor shower’s peak.
Nov. 5: Occultation of Aldebaran . For the second time this year, the moon crosses in front of the bright star Aldebaran on Nov. 5. This time the waning gibbous moon will be nearly full. The occultation will be visible from most of North America in the early evening. [Watch the Moon Play ‘Peekaboo’ with Bright Star Aldebaran ]
Nov. 13: A spectacular conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will be visible in the evening sky. The two bright planets will be extremely close, appearing only 0.3 degrees apart. Look for this impressive pairing in the Eastern sky just before sunrise.
Nov. 14: An air-launched Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket will send NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite into orbit from Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.
Nov. 17-18: The Leonid meteor shower peaks between Thursday, Nov. 17 and Friday, Nov. 18. But Leonid meteors will be visible in the sky throughout the month of November.
Nov. 17: An Orbital ATK Antares rocket will launch a Cygnus cargo spacecraft (OA-9) to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia.
Also slated to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now ):
- SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station.
- A Chinese Long March 5 rocket will launch the Chang’e 5 mission to return samples from the moon .
- Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 rocket to launch four Galileo full operational capability satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation from the Guiana Space Center.
- A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket will launch NASA’s ICESat-2 satellite to measure ice sheet elevation and ice sheet thickness changes linked to climate change, along with measurements of Earth’s vegetation biomass.
- An Arianespace Vega rocket, designated VV11, will launch with the ADM-Aeolus satellite for the European Space Agency. ADM-Aeolus will be the first ever satellite to deliver wind profiles on a global scale and on a daily basis.
December
Dec. 3: The full moon of December, also known as the Full Cold Moon, occurs at 10:47 a.m. EDT (1547 GMT) on Monday, Dec. 3. This will also be the only “supermoon ” of 2017. [How to Photograph the Supermoon: NASA Pro Shares His Tips ]
Dec. 5-7: SpaceCom 2017 (Space Commerce Conference and Exposition) in Houston, Texas.
Dec. 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of Wednesday, Dec. 13 and the early morning hours of Thursday, Dec. 14. Geminid meteors will be visible Dec. 7-16.
Dec. 20: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch a classified spacecraft payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Dec. 21-22: The Ursid meteor shower peaks on the night of Thursday, Dec. 21 and the early morning hours of Friday, Dec. 22. Ursid meteors will appear in the sky Dec. 17-25.
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