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2026 in spaceflight

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2026 in spaceflight
The Artemis 2 mission is scheduled to carry four astronauts around the Moon in 2026.
Orbital launches
First3 January
Last7 February
Total28
Successes25
Failures3
Partial failures0
Rockets
Maiden flights
Crewed flights
Orbital0
Orbital travellers0
Suborbital1
Suborbital travellers6
Total travellers6
EVAs0
2026 in spaceflight
← 2025
2027 →

This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the year 2026.

Overview

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Astronomy and astrophysics

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On 11 January, NASA launched the Pandora small space telescope to study exoplanet atmospheres.[1][2] The same Falcon 9 flight also carried two CubeSat-type space telescopes by NASA: SPARCS and BlackCAT, alongside other payloads.[3][4][5][6]

In April or March, ESA and CAS plan to launch their joint heliophysics mission SMILE.[7]

In mid-2026, ESA plans to launch the CubeSpec satellite for testing a low-cost small satellite platform for long-term spectroscopic monitoring of stars from space on the specific case of asteroseismology of massive stars.[8]

In mid-2026, NASA plans to launch the SunRISE mission consisting of six CubeSats for studying solar activity.[9][10]

In mid-2026, NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is planned to be boosted to a higher orbit by a private Arizona-based firm, Katalyst Space Technologies.[11] Katalyst Space announced that they would utilize a spacecraft launched on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL aircraft-borne rocket.[12]

In August, NASA plans to launch the small UV telescope Aspera designed to map hot gas in the circumgalactic and intergalactic medium of nearby galaxies.[13]

In September, NASA plans to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, an infrared space telescope for cosmology and search for exoplanets.[14]

In December 2026 or January 2027, ESA plans to launch the PLATO space telescope for discovery and characterization of exoplanets.[15]

China plans to launch Xuntian, a large space telescope that will co-orbit with the Tiangong space station, in late 2026[16] or in 2027.[17][18]

Taiwan plans to launch its first space telescope, the Gamma-ray Transients Monitor (GTM), as a secondary payload on the Formosat-8B satellite, in December.[19]

Solar system exploration

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The year 2026 is expected to bring humanity's first close-up views of two Solar system objects, the near-Earth asteroids Kamoʻoalewa (Tianwen-2 orbit insertion in June) and Torifune (Hayabusa2 flyby in July).[20][21]

ESA's Hera spacecraft is expected to arrive at the double asteroid Didymos in November.[22]

The joint ESA-JAXA mission BepiColombo is expected to enter orbit around Mercury in late 2026.[23][24]

ESA plans to launch its first stand-alone deep space CubeSat, the space weather mission HENON, in late 2026.[25]

In November, NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft are expected to perform a gravity assist maneuver at Earth that will send them towards Mars.[26][27]

In November or December, JAXA plans to launch the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to Mars.[28]

On 24 December, ESA's Solar Orbiter is expected to perform its 5th Venus flyby, which will tilt its heliocentric orbit from 17° to 24°.[29]

Lunar exploration

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In early 2026, NASA and Blue Origin plan to launch Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1, the first uncrewed mission of the Blue Moon Mark 1 intended to test various technologies needed for future crewed Lunar landers.[30]

In the first half of 2026, NASA and Intuitive Machines plan to launch IM-3 aiming to land at Reiner Gamma.[31]

In July, NASA and Astrobotic plan to launch Griffin Mission One aiming to land near the Moon's south pole.[32][33]

In late 2026, NASA and Firefly Aerospace plan to launch Blue Ghost Mission 2 aiming to land on the far side of the Moon. The mission also aims to deliver the ESA's communication satellite Lunar Pathfinder to Lunar orbit.[34][35][36]

China plans to launch Chang'e 7 to explore the lunar south pole in late 2026.[37] The mission will include an orbiter, a relay satellite, a lander, a rover, and a mini-flying probe.[38]

Human spaceflight

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On 8 January, one of Crew-11 astronauts on the ISS suffered a serious medical issue. In response, NASA called off a spacewalk that was under preparation at that time and later decided to return the entire Crew-11 mission back to Earth earlier than planned in a "controlled medical evacuation". This marks the first time in U.S. history, as well as in the ISS program, that a space mission has been cut short due to a medical issue,[39][40] although such cases happened before during Soviet space station missions.[41][42][43][44] The Crew Dragon Endeavour with all 4 crew members of Crew-11 safely splashed down off California coast on 15 January.[45][46]

On 30 January, Blue Origin announced that it will pause the New Shepard suborbital space tourism program for at least two years in order to focus on crewed lunar exploration.[47][48][49]

NASA plans to launch the Artemis II mission on the Space Launch System sending astronauts around the Moon on a ten-day lunar flyby in March 2026,[50] the first crewed lunar flyby since the Apollo program.[51]

NASA and Boeing plan to launch the uncrewed ISS cargo mission Starliner-1, the fourth orbital flight of the Starliner spacecraft, no earlier than April 2026.[52]

ISRO aims to launch Gaganyaan-1, India's first uncrewed orbital test flight to support human exploration missions in late March 2026.[53]

China plans to launch Mengzhou 1, the first uncrewed orbital flight of the new Mengzhou spacecraft and the new CZ-10 rocket, both intended for the country's crewed lunar program.[54][55][56]

In late 2026, NASA and Sierra Space plan to launch Dream Chaser Demo-1, the first free flyer orbital demonstration flight of the uncrewed cargo spaceplane Dream Chaser.[57]

China plans to launch the new cargo spacecraft Qingzhou on its first flight to the Tiangong space station.[58][59]

Rocket innovation

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SpaceX plans to continue testing the Starship system, with Flight 12 expected in early March.[60]

ESA plans first test flights of the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator in early 2026.[61][62]

Satellite technology

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In January, Hisdesat announced that the Spainsat NG II communications satellite launched in October 2025 for Spanish government and military use was struck by a “space particle" while on its way to Geostationary orbit and suffered non-recoverable damage.[63][64]

On 12 January, the Spanish space capsule company Orbital Paradigm, supported by ESA's FLPP, launched its first technology demonstration mission. The KID capsule was expected to re-enter Earth atmosphere after reaching orbit on the PSLV-C62 flight. The Indian PSLV rocket failed in flight but KID separated from the falling launch vehicle and managed to transmit flight data during its non-nominal suborbital flight, thus becoming the lone survivor of 2026's first launch failure.[65][66][67]

On 27 January, the EU announced that the EUSPA's GOVSATCOM program for encrypted communications is now operational, integrating eight satellites from five EU member states.[68][69][70]

In early 2026, ESA plans to launch the first satellites of the GNSS augmentation constellation Celeste (LEO-PNT) on a Rocket Lab's Electron rocket.[71]

The German ICARUS Initiative plans to launch first operational satellites of the ICARUS 2.0 constellation, built by the Bulgarian company EnduroSat, for tracking animal migrations.[72]

NASA plans to launch LOXSAT, a cryogenic fluid management demonstration satellite mission, in early 2026.[73]

On 31 August and 1 September, ESA plans to send a small airplane to observe the destructive reentries of the last two satellites of the magnetospheric mission Cluster II. To better coordinate the aerial observation campaign, ESA commanded the satellites in late January 2026 to slightly alter their orbits so they reenter closer to each other. This initiative is part of ESA Space Safety Programme's efforts to reduce the risks of space debris and serves as precursor to the Draco mission planned for 2027.[74][75]

In September, ESA plans to launch the Earth observation satellites FLEX for monitoring terrestrial vegetation by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence together with the oceanography satellite Sentinel-3C for the EU's Copernicus Programme on a single flight of the Vega C rocket.[76][77][78][79]

The UK Space Agency plans to launch the first satellite of the ESA-supported Atlantic Constellation for Earth observation.[80]

Orbital launches

[edit]
Main articles: List of spaceflight launches in January–March 2026, List of spaceflight launches in April–June 2026, List of spaceflight launches in July–September 2026, and List of spaceflight launches in October–December 2026
Numbers of orbital launches
Month Total Successes Failures Partial failures
January 24 21 3 0
February 4 4 0 0
March 0 0 0 0
April 0 0 0 0
May 0 0 0 0
June 0 0 0 0
July 0 0 0 0
August 0 0 0 0
September 0 0 0 0
October 0 0 0 0
November 0 0 0 0
December 0 0 0 0
Total 28 25 3 0

Deep-space rendezvous

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Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
May Psyche Flyby of Mars[81]
7 June Tianwen-2 469219 Kamoʻoalewa orbital insertion[82]
4 July Tianwen-2 Rendezvous with 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and sample collection[82]
5 July Hayabusa2 Flyby of 98943 Torifune[83]
29 September JUICE Second gravity assist at Earth
November BepiColombo Hermocentric orbit insertion at Mercury
November ESCAPADE Gravity assist at Earth
3 December Europa Clipper Gravity assist at Earth
24 December Solar Orbiter Fifth gravity assist at Venus This flyby of Venus will increase the inclination of the spacecraft's orbit further to 24 degrees, and will mark the start of the ‘high-latitude’ mission.
28 December Hera Arrival at binary asteroid 65803 Didymos

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)

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Start date/time Duration End time Spacecraft Crew Remarks

Orbital launch statistics

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By country

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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
 China 9 7 2 0
 Russia 1 1 0 0
 India 1 0 1 0
 United States 17[a] 17 0 0
World 28 25 3 0

By rocket

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By family

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By type

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By configuration

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By spaceport

[edit]
5
10
15
20
Australia
Brazil
China
France
India
Iran
Israel
Japan
Kazakhstan
New Zealand
Norway
Russia
South Korea
United States
Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks
Cape Canaveral  United States 7 7 0 0
Jiuquan  China 4 3 1 0
Mahia  New Zealand 2 2 0 0
Plesetsk  Russia 1 1 0 0
Satish Dhawan  India 1 0 1 0
Taiyuan  China 1 1 0 0
Vandenberg  United States 8 8 0 0
Wenchang  China 2 2 0 0
Xichang  China 1 0 1 0
Yellow Sea  China 1 1 0 0
Total 28 25 3 0

By orbit

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  •   Transatmospheric
  •   Low Earth
  •   Low Earth (ISS)
  •   Low Earth (CSS)
  •   Low Earth (SSO)
  •   Low Earth (polar)
  •   Low Earth (retrograde)
  •   Medium Earth
  •   Molniya
  •   Geosynchronous
  •   Lunar transfer
  •   Heliocentric
Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not achieved Accidentally
achieved 		Remarks
Transatmospheric 0 0 0 0
Low Earth 26 24 2 0
Geosynchronous / transfer 1 0 1 0
Medium Earth 1 1 0 0
High Earth 0 0 0 0
Heliocentric orbit 0 0 0 0 Including planetary transfer orbits
Total 28 25 3 0

Suborbital launch statistics

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By country

[edit]

For the purposes of this section, the yearly tally of suborbital launches by country assigns each flight to the country of origin of the rocket, not to the launch services provider or the spaceport. Flights intended to fly below 80 km (50 mi) are omitted. This includes suborbital flights for all purposes, including scientific and military application.

Country Launches Successes Failures Partial
failures
 Canada 4 4 0 0
 China 1 1 0 0
 Russia 1 1 0 0
 United States 2 2 0 0
World 8 8 0 0

Expected maiden flights

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Rocket Origin Organization Reusable Launch Outcome Ref.
Ceres-2 China Galactic Energy N/a 17 January Failure [84]
Ariane 64 France ArianeGroup N/a 12 February TBD [85]
Vikram-1 India Skyroot Aerospace N/a February TBD [86]
HLVM3 India ISRO N/a March TBD [87]
Irtysh Russia TsSKB Progress N/a March TBD [88]
Solid fuel SLV (All stages variant) South Korea ADD N/a March TBD [89]
Agnibaan India AgniKul Cosmos First stage Q1 TBD [90]
Kinetica 2 China CAS Space First stage Q1 TBD [91]
Tianlong-3 China Space Pioneer First stage Q1 TBD [92]
Starship Block 3 USA SpaceX Fully Q1 TBD [60]
Long March 10B China CASC First stage Q2 TBD [93]
H3-30S Japan JAXA and MHI N/a Q2 TBD [94]
Miura 5 Spain PLD Space First stage Early 2026 TBD
Nova USA Stoke Space Fully Early 2026 TBD [95]
Nebula-1 China Deep Blue Aerospace First stage Early 2026 TBD [96]
Neutron USA Rocket Lab First stage Mid 2026 TBD [97]
Eclipse USA Firefly Aerospace First stage H2 TBD
Daytona I USA Phantom Space N/a Late 2026 TBD [98]
Pallas-2 China Galactic Energy First stage Late 2026 TBD [99]
Antares 330 USA Northrop Grumman N/a Late 2026 TBD
Yuanxingzhe-1 China Space Epoch First stage Late 2026 TBD [100]
Long March 10A China CASC First stage 2026 TBD
Terran R USA Relativity Space First stage Late 2026 TBD
Skyrora XL UK Skyrora N/a 2026 TBD
Prime UK Orbex First stage 2026 TBD
Epsilon S Japan JAXA N/a 2026 TBD [101]
Maia France MaiaSpace (ArianeGroup) First stage 2026 TBD [102]
Hyperbola-3 China i-Space First stage 2026 TBD [103][104]
RFA One Germany Rocket Factory Augsburg First stage 2026 TBD [105]
Microlançador Brasileiro [pt] Brazil Brazilian Space Agency N/a 2026 TBD [106]
Pallas-1 China Galactic Energy First stage 2026 TBD [107]

Notes

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See also

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References

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  101. ^ "Rocket Lab: Why The Neutron Could See More Demand Than You Think". Seeking Alpha. 23 October 2025. Epsilon S, now targeting 2026
  102. ^ "MaiaSpace at WSBW 2025". MaiaSpace. 26 September 2025. 2026 when our first launch will occur
  103. ^ Stephen Clark (2 December 2025). "This Chinese company could become the country's first to land a reusable rocket". Ars Technica. Hyperbola-3 that could debut next year
  104. ^ "iSpace/Demo Flight". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  105. ^ "RFA/Demo Flight". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  106. ^ João Melo (4 June 2025). "Microlançador de satélites brasileiro vai decolar em 2026". canaltech. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  107. ^ "Galactic Energy/Demo Flight". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
[edit]
Generic references:

Spaceflight portal
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