40 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
40 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
# 2026 Space Launch Calendar (April - Dec 2026)
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*Note: Sourced from early April 2026 data. Schedules (NET/TBD) are subject to change due to weather and technical factors.*
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## SpaceX (Falcon 9/Heavy + Starship Tests)
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- Apr 7: Starlink 17-35 (Falcon 9, Vandenberg SLC-4E) – 25 internet sats.
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- Apr 9: Starlink 17-21 (Falcon 9, Vandenberg).
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- Apr 9/10: Cygnus NG-24 cargo to ISS (Falcon 9, Cape SLC-40).
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- Apr 14: Starlink 10-24 (Falcon 9, Cape).
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- Apr 15: Starlink 17-27 (Falcon 9, Vandenberg).
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- Apr TBD: GPS III SV10 (Falcon 9).
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- May TBD: Starship Flight 12 orbital test (Starbase TX).
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- May TBD: Crew-11 Dragon astronauts to ISS (Falcon 9).
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- Jun+: SDA Tranche 1 Tracking/Transport military sats (multiple Falcon 9, Vandenberg).
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- Q2-Q4: Rivada internet sats (multiple batches, Falcon 9).
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- Late 2026: Possible 5 uncrewed Starships to Mars (Starship, Optimus robots— Musk: "slight chance").
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- Q4: Transporter-16 rideshare smallsats (Falcon 9).
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## NASA (Artemis/CLPS Lunar + ISS)
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- Apr 1-7: Artemis II crewed Moon flyby (SLS/Orion, Kennedy LC-39B)—1st crewed deep space since Apollo.
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- Apr 9: Cygnus NG-24 ISS cargo (SpaceX Falcon).
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- Early 2026: Blue Origin Blue Moon Mk1 lunar pathfinder (New Glenn, south pole).
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- Q2: Firefly Blue Ghost M2 CLPS Moon lander (Falcon 9, far side w/ UAE rover).
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- Jul: Astrobotic Griffin-1 CLPS south pole (Falcon Heavy, FLIP rover).
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- H2: Intuitive Machines IM-3 CLPS Reiner Gamma (Falcon 9, CADRE rovers).
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- TBD: Boeing Starliner-1 cargo to ISS (Atlas V).
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- Q4: Vulcan Centaur Dream Chaser 1 cargo to ISS (ULA).
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## China/CNSA (Long March Rockets—~50 Launches)
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- Jul: Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return (Long March 3B, Xichang).
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- Aug: Chang'e 7 lunar south pole (orbiter/lander/rover/hopper, Wenchang).
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- Jun-Jul: Mengzhou-1 next-gen crew capsule test (Long March 10?).
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- Throughout: Shenzhou 23/24 crewed to Tiangong station (Long March 2F, Jiuquan).
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- Dec: Xuntian (CSST) space telescope near Tiangong (Long March 5B).
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- Frequent (weekly): Yaogan spy sats, Guowang/Starnet LEO comms (Long March 2/4/6/7/8 from Jiuquan/Taiyuan/Wenchang).
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## Other Notables
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- Apr 9: Vega-C Smile solar wind probe (ESA/China, French Guiana).
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- Late 2026: JAXA MMX Phobos sample (H3 rocket, Tanegashima).
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