This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2026.
In 2026, NASA is expected to launch the Artemis III mission, which will land astronauts near the south pole of the Moon. It is expected to be the first mission to land humans on the Moon since 1972.
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will have a field of view 100 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, is scheduled to be launched in October 2026.[1]
China plans to launch Chang'e 7 to explore the lunar south pole in late 2026.[2] The mission will include an orbiter, a relay satellite, a lander, a rover, and a mini-flying probe.[3]
Date and time (UTC) | Rocket | Flight number | Launch site | LSP | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payload (⚀ = CubeSat) |
Operator | Orbit | Function | Decay (UTC) | Outcome | |||
Remarks | ||||||||
January edit | ||||||||
January (TBD)[4] | Antares 330 | MARS LP-0A | Northrop Grumman | |||||
Cygnus NG-24 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | |||||
January (TBD)[5][6] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
KOMPSAT-7 (Arirang 7) | KARI | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
March edit | ||||||||
Q1 (TBD)[8] | Ariane 62 | Kourou ELA-4 | Arianespace | |||||
Metop-SG B1[9] | EUMETSAT | Low Earth (SSO) | Meteorology | |||||
Second of six MetOp-SG launches.[7] | ||||||||
Q1 (TBD)[10] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg | SpaceX | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth (SSO) | TBA | |||||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit, designated Transporter-16. | ||||||||
Q1 (TBD)[11] | Miura 5 | Kourou | PLD Space | |||||
PLD Space | Low Earth | Flight test | ||||||
First flight of Miura 5. | ||||||||
Q1 (TBD)[12][13] | Daytona I | TBA | Phantom Space | |||||
⚀ Hurricane Hunter × 2 | Phantom Space / TWA | Low Earth | Meteorology | |||||
First pair of satellites for Tropical Weather Analytics' (TWA) Hurricane Hunter Satellite Constellation. | ||||||||
Q1 (TBD)[8][15] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
CO2M-A (Sentinel-7A)[16] | ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
First satellite of the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission.[14] Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme. | ||||||||
Q1 (TBD)[17] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
ULTRASAT | ISA / Weizmann Institute of Science | Geosynchronous | Ultraviolet astronomy | |||||
June edit | ||||||||
June (TBD)[18] | PSLV | Satish Dhawan | ISRO | |||||
Resourcesat-3S[19] | ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
Q2 (TBD)[20] | Ariane 64[21] | Kourou ELA-4 | Arianespace | |||||
MTG-I2[22] | EUMETSAT | Geosynchronous | Meteorology | |||||
Q2 (TBD)[10] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg | SpaceX | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth (SSO) | TBA | |||||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit, designated Transporter-17. | ||||||||
Q2 (TBD)[8][15] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
CO2M-B (Sentinel-7B)[16] | ESA | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
Second satellite of the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission.[14] Part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Programme. | ||||||||
Q2 (TBD)[23] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth (SSO) | TBA | |||||
Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) #14 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
H1 2026 (TBD)[24] | Ariane 64 | Kourou ELA-4 | Arianespace | |||||
Intelsat 45 | Intelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
H1 2026 (TBD)[25] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | |||||
Rivada × 24 | Rivada Space Networks | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | |||||
Ninth of twelve launches for Rivada Space Networks' 300-satellite constellation. | ||||||||
H1 2026 (TBD)[25] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | |||||
Rivada × 24 | Rivada Space Networks | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | |||||
Tenth of twelve launches for Rivada Space Networks' 300-satellite constellation. | ||||||||
H1 2026 (TBD)[25] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | |||||
Rivada × 24 | Rivada Space Networks | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | |||||
Eleventh of twelve launches for Rivada Space Networks' 300-satellite constellation. | ||||||||
H1 2026 (TBD)[25] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Vandenberg SLC-4E | SpaceX | |||||
Rivada × 24 | Rivada Space Networks | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | |||||
Twelfth and final launch for Rivada Space Networks' 300-satellite constellation. | ||||||||
Mid 2026 (TBD)[26] | Starship | TBA | SpaceX | |||||
Starship HLS | SpaceX | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
FLEX | Astrolab | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar rover Technology demonstration |
|||||
Uncrewed Starship HLS rideshare mission to the lunar south pole. Astrolab's Flexible Logistics and Exploration (FLEX) rover will compete in NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle competition. | ||||||||
September edit | ||||||||
September (TBD)[27] | SLS Block 1 | Kennedy LC-39B | NASA | |||||
Artemis 3 | NASA | Selenocentric | Crewed lunar landing | |||||
TBA[28] | Australian Space Agency | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar rover | |||||
Second crewed Orion flight and first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. | ||||||||
Q3 (TBD)[30] | New Glenn | Cape Canaveral LC-36 | Blue Origin | |||||
Axiom Hab Two (AxH2)[31] | Axiom Space | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly / Space habitat | |||||
Second Axiom Orbital Segment module to be launched, nominally on New Glenn (with Falcon Heavy as backup).[29] | ||||||||
Q3 (TBD)[23] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
SSMS #15 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
Q3 (TBD)[23] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
SSMS #16 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
October edit | ||||||||
October (TBD)[1] | Falcon Heavy | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | |||||
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope | NASA | Sun–Earth L2 | Infrared astronomy | |||||
Formerly known as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).[32] | ||||||||
December edit | ||||||||
Q4 (TBD)[23] | Ariane 64 | Kourou ELA-4 | Arianespace | |||||
TBA | TBA | Geosynchronous | TBA | |||||
Multi-Launch Service (MLS) #1 rideshare mission. | ||||||||
Q4 (TBD)[10] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg | SpaceX | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth (SSO) | TBA | |||||
Dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit, designated Transporter-18. | ||||||||
Q4 (TBD)[2] | Long March 5 | Wenchang LC-1 | CASC | |||||
Chang'e 7 orbiter | CNSA | Selenocentric | Lunar orbiter | |||||
Chang'e 7 relay satellite | CNSA | Selenocentric | Communications | |||||
Chang'e 7 lander | CNSA | Selenocentric to lunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
The Rashid 2 rover was removed from this mission due to ITAR concerns.[33] | ||||||||
Q4 (TBD)[35] | New Glenn | Cape Canaveral LC-36 | Blue Origin | |||||
Axiom Hab One (AxH1) | Axiom Space | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly / Space habitat | |||||
First Axiom Orbital Segment module to be launched, nominally on New Glenn (with Falcon Heavy as backup).[34] | ||||||||
To be determined edit | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[36] | Antares 330 | MARS LP-0A | Northrop Grumman | |||||
Cygnus NG-25 | NASA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | |||||
2026 (TBD)[37] | LVM 3 | Satish Dhawan SLP | ISRO | |||||
Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2) | ISRO | Areocentric | Mars orbiter | |||||
2026 (TBD)[38] | Ariane 62[39] | Kourou ELA-4 | Arianespace | |||||
PLATO | ESA | Sun–Earth L2 | Exoplanetary science | |||||
2026 (TBD)[40][41] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral or Kennedy | SpaceX | |||||
Arabsat-7A | Arabsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026 (TBD)[42][43] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cape Canaveral or Kennedy | SpaceX | |||||
GPS III-10 Hedy Lamarr | U.S. Space Force | Medium Earth | Navigation | |||||
Named after American actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[44] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | SpaceX | ||||||
Lightspeed × 18 | Telesat | Low Earth (SSO) | Communications | |||||
First of 14 Falcon 9 launches for Telesat's Lightspeed LEO constellation. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[46] | Falcon Heavy | Kennedy LC-39A | SpaceX | |||||
Griffin | Astrobotic | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
⚀ CubeRover | Astrobotic | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar rover | |||||
Third Astrobotic lunar lander mission, targeting a site near the lunar south pole. Astrobotic's LunaGrid-Lite aims to demonstrate high voltage power transmission from the lander to a tethered CubeRover.[45] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[47] | Firefly Alpha | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Firefly | |||||
TBA | L3Harris | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
First of three dedicated launches for L3Harris. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[47] | Firefly Alpha | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Firefly | |||||
TBA | L3Harris | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
Second of three dedicated launches for L3Harris. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[47] | Firefly Alpha | Vandenberg SLC-2W | Firefly | |||||
TBA | L3Harris | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
Third of three dedicated launches for L3Harris. | ||||||||
JFY2026 (TBD)[48] | H3-24 | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | MHI | |||||
HTV-X2 | JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | |||||
JFY2026 (TBD)[48] | H3-24 | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | MHI | |||||
HTV-X3 | JAXA | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS logistics | |||||
JFY2026 (TBD)[48] | H3 | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | MHI | |||||
IGS-Optical Diversification 1 | CSICE | Low Earth (SSO) | Reconnaissance | |||||
First of a new generation of IGS-Optical satellites. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[49] | H3 | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | MHI | |||||
LUPEX | JAXA / ISRO | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[50] | H3-24L | Tanegashima LA-Y2 | MHI | |||||
Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) | JAXA | Areocentric | Mars orbiter Phobos sample return |
|||||
IDEFIX[51] | DLR / CNES | Areocentric | Mars rover | |||||
Sample return mission from Phobos. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[52] | Nuri (KSLV-II) | Naro LC-2 | KARI | |||||
TBA | TBA | Low Earth (SSO) | TBA | |||||
Fifth planned launch of Nuri, and the first with solely commercial payloads. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[53][54] | Proton-M / Briz-M P4 | Baikonur | Roscosmos | |||||
Ekspress-AMU4 | RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026 (TBD)[18] | PSLV | Satish Dhawan | ISRO | |||||
Resourcesat-3A | ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
2026 (TBD)[56] | PSLV | Satish Dhawan | ISRO | |||||
TRISHNA | CNES / ISRO | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
Third collaborative satellite mission between France and India.[55] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[57] | Soyuz-2.1a | Vostochny Site 1S | Roscosmos | |||||
Obzor-R №2[58] | Roscosmos | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
2026 (TBD)[59] | Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat | Baikonur | Roscosmos | |||||
Arktika-M №4[60] | Roscosmos | Molniya | Meteorology | |||||
2026 (TBD)[61] | Spectrum | Andøya | Isar Aerospace | |||||
Sherpa OTV | Spaceflight, Inc. | Low Earth (SSO) | Space tug | |||||
Dedicated rideshare mission. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[64] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
Mars Lander | Impulse Space | TMI to Martian surface | Mars lander | |||||
Maiden flight of Terran R.[62] Impulse Mars mission.[63] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[62][67] | Terran R | Vandenberg B-330 | Relativity Space | |||||
Iridium NEXT 182[68] | Iridium | Low Earth | Communications | |||||
A spare Iridium NEXT satellite to be launched on-demand.[65] Relativity was previously contracted to launch up to six spare satellites for Iridium.[66] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[62][69] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
OneWeb × ? | OneWeb | Low Earth | Communications | |||||
First of multiple Terran R launches for OneWeb's Gen 2 constellation. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[62][70] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
STP-TBA | U.S. Space Force | Low Earth | Military | |||||
2026 (TBD)[62][71] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
Vigoride | Momentus Space | Geosynchronous | Space tug | |||||
2026 (TBD)[73][74] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
⚀ TBA | NASA | Low Earth | TBA | |||||
NASA Venture Class Launch Services 2 (VCLS 2) Mission, officially known as VCLS Demo-2R. The ELaNa 42 mission, consisting of three CubeSats, will launch on this flight.[72] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[62][75] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
TBA | mu Space | Low Earth | IoT | |||||
2026 (TBD)[62][76] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
Dedicated rideshare mission | Spaceflight, Inc. | Low Earth | Satellite dispenser | |||||
Rideshare mission for smallsats. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[62][77] | Terran R | Cape Canaveral LC-16 | Relativity Space | |||||
Dedicated rideshare mission | TriSept | Low Earth | Satellite dispenser | |||||
H2 2026 (TBD)[79] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
ClearSpace-1 | ClearSpace SA (EPFL) | Low Earth | Space debris removal | |||||
ClearSpace-1 will capture and de-orbit the Vespa payload adapter that deployed PROBA-V in 2013.[78] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[80] | Vega-C | Kourou ELV | Arianespace | |||||
CSG-4 | ASI | Low Earth (SSO) | Earth observation | |||||
Fourth COSMO-SkyMed 2nd Generation satellite. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[82] | Volans | TBA | Equatorial Space | |||||
Equatorial Space | Low Earth | Flight test | ||||||
Maiden flight of Volans, and the first orbital flight of a launch vehicle developed in Singapore.[81] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[84] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
APEX 1.0 | ispace U.S. / Draper / NASA | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
TBA | TBA | Selenocentric | Lunar communications | |||||
First flight of ispace's APEX 1.0 lunar lander, as part of ispace Mission 3. Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission delivering payloads to Schrödinger Basin. The Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment (LuSEE), a flight spare of the FIELDS instrument on the Parker Solar Probe, will fly on this mission.[83] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[85] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Axiom Research & Manufacturing Facility (AxRMF)[31] | Axiom Space | Low Earth (ISS) | ISS assembly / Space habitat | |||||
Third Axiom Orbital Segment module. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[87] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Blue Ghost M2 | NASA / Firefly | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar lander | |||||
Lunar Pathfinder[88] | SSTL / ESA | Selenocentric (ELFO) | Communications | |||||
Second Blue Ghost mission. Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission delivering two payloads to the far side of the Moon.[86] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[89] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Canadensys Lunar Rover | Canadensys / CSA | TLI to lunar surface | Lunar rover | |||||
First Canadian lunar rover. Will fly as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[90][91] | TBA | Baikonur or Vostochny | Roscosmos | |||||
Ekspress-AMU6 | RSCC | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026 (TBD)[92] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Flexsat | Eutelsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026 (TBD)[94] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Inmarsat-7 F1 (GX 7)[95] | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
Inmarsat-7 F2 (GX 8) | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
Inmarsat-7 F3 (GX 9) | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
The satellites may launch on separate rockets, though they are designed to fit together in a single payload fairing.[93] | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[96] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Inmarsat-8 F1 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
Inmarsat-8 F2 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
Inmarsat-8 F3 | Inmarsat | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026 (TBD)[97] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Nyx | The Exploration Company | Low Earth | Reusable spacecraft | |||||
First operational mission of the Nyx reusable spacecraft. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[98] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
O3b mPOWER 12 (O3b FM32) | SES S.A. | Medium Earth | Communications | |||||
O3b mPOWER 13 (O3b FM33) | SES S.A. | Medium Earth | Communications | |||||
2026–2027 (TBD)[99] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
SXM-11 | Sirius XM | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026–2027 (TBD)[99] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
SXM-12 | Sirius XM | Geosynchronous | Communications | |||||
2026 (TBD)[100] | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||||
Venus Habitability Mission | MIT | Heliocentric to Venus | Venus atmospheric balloon | |||||
Second of three MIT missions to Venus to study its atmosphere. | ||||||||
2026 (TBD)[101][102] | TBA | TBA | CASC | |||||
Xihe-2 | Nanjing University / SAST | Sun–Earth L5 | Solar observation |
Date (UTC) | Spacecraft | Event | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
May | Psyche | Flyby of Mars[109] | |
July | Hayabusa2 | Flyby of (98943) 2001 CC21[110] | |
29 September | JUICE | Second gravity assist at Earth |
Start Date/Time | Duration | End Time | Spacecraft | Crew | Remarks |
---|
For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of orbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. For example, Soyuz launches by Arianespace in Kourou are counted under Russia because Soyuz-2 is a Russian rocket.
Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures |
Remarks |
---|
Family | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|
Rocket | Country | Family | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|
Rocket | Country | Type | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|
Site | Country | Launches | Successes | Failures | Partial failures | Remarks |
---|
Orbital regime | Launches | Achieved | Not achieved | Accidentally achieved |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Transatmospheric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Low Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Geosynchronous / transfer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Medium Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
High Earth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Heliocentric orbit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Including planetary transfer orbits |
Ondler said in the briefing that the first of those modules is now scheduled to launch to the ISS at the end of 2026, about a year later than the company previously announced.