LAST UPDATED April 23: 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.
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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.
April
April 25: A Eurockot Rockot vehicle will launch with the Sentinel 3B Earth observation satellite for the European Space Agency and the European Commission from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia.
April 25: NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold will host an in-flight educational event at the International Space Station with the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables, Florida. NASA TV will air the discussion live at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).
April 26: A Chinese Long March 11 rocket will launch several Zhuhai 1 Earth-observing satellites from Jiuquan, China.
Also slated to launch in April (from Spaceflight Now):
- A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch on its third flight, titled “It’s Business Time,” from the Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand’s North Island. The launch window opens at 8:30 p.m. EDT on April 19 and closes at 12:30 a.m. EDT on April 20 (0030-0430 GMT on April 20).
May
May 2: SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft (CRS-14) will depart the International Space Station at 10:33 a.m. EDT (1433 GMT) and return to Earth. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the Dragon’s departure beginning at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). [Watch Live]
May 4: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida with the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite at 4:00-6:25 p.m. EDT (2000-2225 GMT).
May 5: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch NASA’s InSight Mars lander from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT).
May 6: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will peak early in the morning (before dawn) on Sunday, May 6. Meteors from this shower will be visible from mid-April to the end of May.
May 6: A Chinese Long March 3B rocket will launch the Apstar 6C communications satellite from Xichang, China.
May 15: Two Expedition 56 crewmembers will take a 6.5-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
May 19: NASA will launch its GRACE-FO (Follow-On) mission to track Earth’s gravty and water movement. It is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of the Iridium Next 51-55 commercial satellite launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 at 4:03 p.m. EDT (2003 GMT).
May 20: An Orbital ATK Antares rocket will launch a Cygnus cargo spacecraft (OA-9) to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia.
May 24: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SES 12 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
May 25: Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket to launch the Azerspace 2/Intelsat 38 and GSAT 11 communications satellites from Kourou, French Guiana at 4:41-5:55 p.m. EDT (2041-2155 GMT).
Also slated to launch in May (from Spaceflight Now):
- A Chinese Long March 4C rocket will launch a relay satellite toward the Earth-moon L2 Lagrange point to enable communications between Earth and the Chang’e 4 lunar lander and rover on the far side of the moon. Two Chinese microsatellites will launch with the Chang’e 4 relay mission to conduct astronomical observations from deep space.
June
June 1: Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft will reach the asteroid Ryugu, where it will attempt to collect a sample and return it to Earth in 2020.
June 3: NASA astronaut Scott Tingle, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Norishege Kanai will undock their Soyuz spacecraft from the International Space Station and land in Kazakhstan after spending nearly six months in space.
June 6: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the crewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with members of the Expedition 56/57 crew: European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopev.
June 11: A Japanese H-2A rocket will launch an Information Gathering Satellite (IGS) with a radar reconnaissance payload from the Tanegashima Space Center. The 2-hour launch window opens at 12 p.m. EDT (0400 GMT).
June 13: An air-launched Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket will send NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite into orbit from Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.
June 21: Summer solstice. In the nothern hemisphere, this is the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. In the southern hemisphere, June 21 is the winter solstice, or the first day of winter, and the shortest day of the year.
June 28: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Dragon cargo spacecraft (CRS-15) from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT).
Also slated to launch in June (from Spaceflight Now):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Telstar 19V communications satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- India‘s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk. 3 (GSLV Mk.3) will launch the GSAT 29 communications satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.
- A Chinese Long March 3A rocket will launch the Fengyun 2H geostationary weather satellite from Xichang, China.
- A Chinese Long March 2C rocket will launch the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS 1) from Taiyuan, China.
July
July 10: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the 70th Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
July 13: A partial solar eclipse will be visible from southern Australia, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. [Solar Eclipse Guide 2018: When, Where & How to See Them]
July 25: Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ES rocket to launch four Galileo satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. The rocket will launch from Kourou, French Guiana.
July 27/28: A total lunar eclipse, also known as a “blood moon,” will be visible from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and Antarctica. [Lunar Eclipse 2018 Guide: When, Where & How to See It]
July 29/30: The southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower will peak overnight on Sunday, July 29 into the early morning hours of Monday, July 30. Meteors from this shower will be visible from mid-July to the end of August.
July 31: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch NASA’s Parker Solar Probe from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 4:15-6:15 a.m. EDT (0815-1015 GMT).
Also slated to launch in July (from Spaceflight Now):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Spaceflight’s SSO-A rideshare mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
- A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program-2 mission sometime during Q3 (July-Sept.).
August
Aug. 11: A partial solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe, Asia, Canada, Greenland, the Atlantic and the Arctic. [Solar Eclipse Guide 2018: When, Where & How to See Them]
Aug. 13: The Perseid meteor shower will peak before dawn in the early morning hours of Monday, Aug. 13.
Aug. 16: A Japanese H-2B rocket will launch the seventh H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-7) from the Tanegashima Space Center. The uncrewed cargo vehicle will deliver equipment and supplies to the International Space Station.
Aug. 21: An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch from Kourou, French Guiana with the European Space Agency’s Aeolus wind-mapping satellite.
Aug. 27: A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch Boeing’s first CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on an unpiloted Orbital Test Flight to the International Space Station. The capsule will dock with the space station, then return to Earth to landing in the Western United States after an orbital shakedown cruise ahead of a two-person Crew Test Flight (which could happen in 2019).
Also slated to launch in August (from Spaceflight Now):
- SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida for an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station.
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 10 Iridium Next satellites (66-75) from Vandenberg Air Foce Base in California.
September
Sept. 12: 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. It will lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 8:46-11:20 a.m. EDT (1246-1520 GMT).
Sept. 14: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the crewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the Expedition 57/58 crew: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Nikolay Tikhonov.
Sept. 18/19: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch the European Space Agency’s MetOp C polar-orbiting weather satellite from the Guiana Space Center in Sinnamary, French Guiana at 8:46 p.m. EDT (0046 GMT on Sept. 19).
Sept. 26: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite (NROL-71) for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Also slated to launch in September (from Spaceflight Now):
- A Chinese Long March 2C rocket will launch the China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT) from Jiuquan, China.
- An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch with the 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.
- A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force’s first third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System (GPS 3-01).
October
Oct. 5:Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket to launch the BepiColombo mission for the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. BepiColombo will begin a seven-year journey to Mercury.
Oct. 9: The Draconid meter shower will peak before dawn on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
Oct. 11: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the 71st Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Oct. 18: 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.
Also slated to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now):
- India will launch the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon from the Satish Dhawan Space Center.
November
Nov. 1: A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will launch the 10th Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft, formerly known as the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite.
Nov. 10: An Orbital ATK Antares rocket will launch a Cygnus cargo spacecraft from Wallops Island, Virginia for a cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station.
Nov. 15: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch a crewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station with members of the next Expedition crew.
Nov. 16: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Dragon cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida for a cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station.
Also slated to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now):
- An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch the Italian space agency’s PRISMA satellite from Kourou, French Guiana.
Also coming in 2018…
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Telkom 4 communications satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the Arabsat 6A communications satellite from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Pad 39A.
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 10 Iridium Next satellites (56-65) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
- A Chinese Long March 3B rocket will launch the Chang’e 4 mission to attempt the first robotic landing on the far side of the moon.
- A Chinese Long March 5 rocket 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.
- A Chinese Long March 2C rocket will launch the China-France Oceanography Satellite, or CFOSat from Jiuquan, China. CFOSat will study ocean surface winds and waves.
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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https://www.space.com/32286-space-calendar.html Space Calendar 2018: Launches, Sky Events & More
[bestandroiddoubledinheadunit950.blogspot.com]Space Calendar 2018: Launches, Sky Events & More
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