Get ready for an action-packed year in space! 2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for space exploration, with numerous rocket launches, planetary missions, and celestial events lined up. Whether you’re a skywatcher, a spaceflight enthusiast, or simply curious about what’s happening beyond Earth, this calendar will help you stay up to date on all the latest space events, milestones, and astronomical wonders.
🚀 Upcoming Rocket Launches & Space Missions
Here are some of the biggest launches and missions happening in the next few months:
🔴 February 2025 Rocket Launches
🚀 February 4 — SpaceX Falcon 9: WorldView Legion (LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida)
🕑 Time: 6:07 p.m. ET (2307 GMT)
🌍 Mission: Two WorldView Legion Earth-imaging satellites for Maxar Space Systems, enhancing real-time monitoring of Earth’s most rapidly changing areas.
🚀 February 4 — Roscosmos Soyuz 2.1V/Volga: [Classified Payload] (Site-43, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia)
🕙 Time: 10:00 p.m. ET (0300 GMT, Feb. 5)
🌍 Mission: A Soyuz 2.1V rocket will launch an undisclosed payload, possibly a military satellite for Russia’s defense and reconnaissance operations.
🚀 February 5 — Rocket Lab Electron: IoT 4 You and Me (Kinéis 16-20) (Launch Complex 1, New Zealand)
🕑 Time: 3:43 p.m. ET (2043 GMT)
🌍 Mission: Five Internet of Things (IoT) nanosatellites for French satellite operator Kinéis, completing its 25-satellite constellation for global tracking and monitoring services.
🚀 February 7 — SpaceX Falcon 9: Starlink 12-9 (SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🕑 Time: 1:50 p.m. ET (1850 GMT)
🌍 Mission: Deployment of another batch of Starlink satellites, expanding SpaceX’s global internet constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO).
🚀 February 11 — CASC Long March 8A: Demo Flight (Wenchang Space Launch Center, China)
🕔 Time: 5:00 a.m. ET (1000 GMT)
🌍 Mission: A test launch of the upgraded Long March 8A rocket, capable of lifting larger payloads to geostationary orbit.
🚀 February 25 — Arianespace Ariane 6: CSO-3 (Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana)
🕑 Time: NET (No Earlier Than) Mid-February
🌍 Mission: Second flight of Ariane 6, carrying the CSO-3 spy satellite for France’s military reconnaissance.
🚀 February 26 — SpaceX Falcon 9: Intuitive Machines IM-2 (LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida)
🕙 Time: 9:00 p.m. ET (0200 GMT, Feb. 27)
🌍 Mission: A lunar lander headed to the Moon’s Mons Mouton region, carrying NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) instruments to study water ice deposits.
🚀 February 27 — SpaceX Falcon 9: NASA PUNCH & SPHEREx (SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California)
🕙 Time: 10:09 a.m. ET (1509 GMT)
🌍 Mission:
📡 SPHEREx Observatory – Will map the universe in 3D, cataloging millions of stars and galaxies.
🌞 PUNCH Mission – Four small satellites will study the Sun’s corona and its transition into solar wind.
🚀 February 28 — Roscosmos Soyuz: Progress MS-30 (Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan)
🕑 Time: TBD
🌍 Mission: Russia’s 91st Progress cargo mission will deliver food, supplies, and scientific experiments to the International Space Station (ISS).
🚀 February (TBD) — SpaceX Starship: IFT-8 (Starbase, Texas)
🌍 Mission: 8th integrated test flight of Starship, SpaceX’s next-generation fully reusable rocket designed for Mars missions and beyond.
🔵 March 2025 Space Highlights
🌕 March 14 — Total Lunar Eclipse (Full Worm Moon)
🕑 Time: Begins at 2:36 a.m. ET (0636 GMT), peak at 2:58 a.m. ET (0658 GMT)
📍 Where to Watch: Visible across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa.
🌞 March 20 — Spring Equinox
📍 What it Means: The day when day and night are equal in length in both hemispheres, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
🚀 March (TBD) — SpaceX Falcon 9: Fram2 (Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🌍 Mission: First crew mission into polar orbit, led by Maltese entrepreneur Chun Wang and international astronauts from Norway, Australia, and Germany.
🚀 March (TBD) — SpaceX Falcon 9: NASA Crew-10 (Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🌍 Mission: 10th Crew Dragon mission to the ISS, launching NASA astronauts for an extended six-month stay in orbit.
🔴 April 2025 Space Highlights
🌕 April 12 — Full Pink Moon
📍 What it Means: The first full moon of spring, named after the pink ground phlox flowers that bloom this time of year.
🚀 April 8 — Roscosmos Soyuz: MS-27 (Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan)
🌍 Mission: Launch of NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim and Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
🚀 April (TBD) — ULA Vulcan Centaur: USSF-106 (Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🌍 Mission: First U.S. Space Force mission on Vulcan Centaur, following the rocket’s debut in 2024.
🟡 May 2025 Space Highlights
🌕 May 12 — Full Flower Moon
📍 What it Means: Named after the blossoming flowers of spring.
🚀 May (TBD) — ULA Vulcan Centaur: Sierra Space Dream Chaser (Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🌍 Mission: First flight of Dream Chaser, a reusable spaceplane designed to transport cargo to the ISS.
🚀 Spring (TBD) — SpaceX Falcon 9: Axiom Space AX-4 (Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🌍 Mission: 4th commercial astronaut mission to the ISS, led by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
🟢 June & Beyond: More to Watch For
🌕 June 11 — Full Strawberry Moon
📍 What it Means: Named after the strawberry harvest season.
🚀 August (TBD) — SpaceX Falcon 9: Vast Haven-1 (Cape Canaveral, Florida)
🌍 Mission: Launch of Haven-1, the first private space station module for Vast Space, which will host four astronauts on a 30-day mission.
📅 Stay Updated!
🚀 Launch schedules are subject to change, so be sure to check for updates regularly.
🌕 Follow monthly skywatching guides for meteor showers, eclipses, and planetary alignments.
2025 is shaping up to be a year of incredible space milestones! 🚀🌍🌕✨
