2026 in spaceflight

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

2026 in spaceflight
Artist concept of NEO Surveyor, scheduled to be launched in 2026.

NASA's NEO Surveyor, scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026, is expected to be capable of detecting at least 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (460 ft), a goal mandated by the US Congress in 2005.[1]

Orbital launches
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks


March

March (TBD)[2] SLS Block 1B Kennedy LC-39B NASA
Artemis 4 NASA Selenocentric (NRHO) Crewed Gateway expedition 
International Habitation Module (I-HAB)[4] ESA Selenocentric (NRHO) Lunar Gateway component 
Third crewed Orion flight. First launch of the SLS Block 1B variant with the Exploration Upper Stage. Delivery of I-HAB to the Lunar Gateway.[5]


June

H1 2026 (TBD)[6] TBA TBA TBA
NEO Surveyor NASA Sun–Earth L1 Infrared astronomy
Near-Earth object detection		 
Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission (NEOSM).[7]


To be determined

2026 (TBD)[8] Amur Vostochny Roscosmos
Sfera × ?[10] Roscosmos Low Earth Communications 
Maiden flight of Amur, a partially reusable methane-powered launch vehicle.
2026 (TBD)[11] Angara A5P Vostochny Site 1A Roscosmos
Orel Roscosmos Low Earth Crewed flight test 
2026 (TBD)[12] Ariane 62[13] Kourou ELA-4 Arianespace
PLATO ESA Sun–Earth L2 Exoplanetary science 
2026 (TBD)[14] Epsilon Uchinoura JAXA
Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-5 JAXA Low Earth Technology demonstration 
2026 (TBD)[15] Epsilon S[16] Uchinoura JAXA
Solar-C EUVST JAXA Low Earth (SSO) Heliophysics 
Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission.
2026 (TBD)[17] Falcon Heavy Kennedy LC-39A SpaceX
SpaceX GLS-2 SpaceX / NASA Selenocentric (NRHO) Gateway logistics 
Second Dragon XL resupply mission to the Lunar Gateway.
2026 (TBD)[14] H3 Tanegashima LA-Y2 MHI
IGS-Optical Diversification 2 CIRO Low Earth (SSO) Reconnaissance 
2026 (TBD)[18] Long March 5DY Wenchang CASC
TBA CNSA Low Earth Flight test 
First flight of China's triple-core crew launch vehicle for moon missions. Previously known as the 921 rocket.
2026 (TBD)[19] 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)[20] Soyuz-2.1a Vostochny Site 1S Roscosmos
Obzor-R №2[22] Roscosmos Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation 
2026 (TBD)[23] Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat Baikonur Roscosmos
Arktika-M №4[25] Roscosmos Molniya Meteorology 
H2 2026 (TBD)[26][27] Vega-C Kourou ELV Arianespace
FORUM ESA Low Earth (SSO) Earth observation 
Ninth Earth Explorer mission for ESA's Living Planet Programme. FORUM is baselined for launch on the Vega-C, and will fly in a loose sun-synchronous formation with MetOp-SG A1.[28]
2026 (TBD)[29] Vega-E Kourou ELV Arianespace
TBA ESA Low Earth Flight test 
First flight of Vega-E.
2026 (TBD)[30] TBA TBA TBA
Axiom Lab (AxL) Axiom Space Low Earth (ISS) ISS assembly / Commercial habitat 
Third Axiom module.
2026 (TBD)[31][32] TBA Baikonur or Vostochny Roscosmos
Ekspress-AMU6 RSCC Geosynchronous Communications 
2026 (TBD)[33] TBA Cape Canaveral TBA
GPS IIIF-01 U.S. Space Force Medium Earth Navigation 
First GPS IIIF satellite. A total of 22 GPS satellites are planned to be launched from 2026 to 2034.
2026 (TBD)[34] 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)[35] TBA TBA TBA
TBA ESA TMI to Martian surface Mars lander 
Rosalind Franklin ESA TMI to Martian surface Mars rover 
ExoMars mission. Launch vehicle and date is uncertain following the suspension of ESA–Russia cooperation on ExoMars.

Suborbital flights
Date and time (UTC) Rocket Flight number Launch site LSP
Payload
(⚀ = CubeSat)		 Operator Orbit Function Decay (UTC) Outcome
Remarks
March (TBD)[36] Improved Orion Esrange MORABA / SNSA
REXUS-37 DLR / SNSA Suborbital Education 
March (TBD)[36] Improved Orion Esrange MORABA / SNSA
REXUS-38 DLR / SNSA Suborbital Education 
September (TBD)[36] VSB-30 Esrange MORABA
MAPHEUS-17 DLR Suborbital Microgravity research 
October (TBD)[36] VSB-30 Esrange SSC
S1X-M18 SSC Suborbital Microgravity research 
SubOrbital Express Microgravity flight opportunity 18.
November (TBD)[36] VSB-30 Esrange MORABA
TEXUS-64 DLR / ESA Suborbital Microgravity research 
November (TBD)[36] VSB-30 Esrange MORABA
TEXUS-65 DLR / ESA Suborbital Microgravity research 

Deep-space rendezvous
Date (UTC) Spacecraft Event Remarks
July Hayabusa2 Flyby of (98943) 2001 CC21[37]

Extravehicular activities (EVAs)
Start Date/Time Duration End Time Spacecraft Crew Remarks

Orbital launch statistics

By country

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

By rocket

By family

Family Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks

By type

Rocket Country Family Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks

By configuration

Rocket Country Type Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks

By spaceport

Site Country Launches Successes Failures Partial failures Remarks

By orbit

Orbital regime Launches Achieved Not achieved Accidentally
achieved		 Remarks
Transatmospheric0000
Low Earth0000
Geosynchronous / transfer0000
Medium Earth0000
High Earth0000
Heliocentric orbit0000Including planetary transfer orbits

Expected maiden flights
  • Razor Crest Mk-1 – EtherealX – India[38]

Notes

    References
    1. "H.R. 1022 (109th): George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth Object Survey Act - Original text". GovTrack. 27 June 2005. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
    2. "NASA's Management of the Gateway Program for Artemis Missions" (PDF). OIG. NASA. 10 November 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 4 January 2021. Artemis IV is scheduled to launch in March 2026 (as of August 2020).
    3. "Thales Alenia Space on its way to reach the Moon". Thales Group (Press release). 14 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020. I-HAB is slated for launch in 2026.
    4. "Thales Alenia Space on its way to reach the Moon". Thales Group (Press release). 14 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020. I-HAB is slated for launch in 2026.
    5. Foust, Jeff (20 January 2022). "NASA foresees gap in lunar landings after Artemis 3". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
    6. Talbert, Tricia (11 June 2021). "NASA Approves Asteroid Hunting Space Telescope to Continue Development". NASA. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
    7. Smith, Marcia (19 January 2020). "NASA's New NEO Mission Will Substantially Reduce Time to Find Hazardous Asteroids". Space Policy Online. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
    8. "Russia to launch first reusable rocket with payload in 2026". TASS. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
    9. "Russia's new Amur rocket to carry Sfera next-generation satellites as first payload". TASS. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
    10. "Russia's new Amur rocket to carry Sfera next-generation satellites as first payload". TASS. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
    11. "Определен срок полета российского корабля "Орел" с экипажем на МКС" [The scheduled time for the first crewed flight of the Russian spacecraft Orel to the ISS has been determined]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
    12. "Planet-hunting eye of PLATO". ESA. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
    13. "Mission Operations". ESA. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
    14. "宇宙基本計画工程表 (令和2年度改訂)" [Space Plan Schedule (2020 Revision)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Cabinet Office. 15 December 2020. p. 30. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
    15. "NASA Approves Heliophysics Missions to Explore Sun, Earth's Aurora". NASA (Press release). 29 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
    16. "Instruments | Next-generation solar-observing satellite Solar-C_EUVST". NAOJ. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
    17. "Report No. IG-21-004: NASA's Management of the Gateway Program for Artemis Missions" (PDF). OIG. NASA. 10 November 2020. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
    18. Jones, Andrew (17 December 2021). "China's new rocket for crewed moon missions to launch around 2026". SpaceNews. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
    19. Lee, Kyung-tae (25 October 2021). "[누리호 발사] 내년 5·10월 추가 발사…2026년 위성시대 본격 돌입" [[Launching Nuri] Additional launches in May/October next year… The satellite era begins in earnest in 2026]. NewsPim (in Korean). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
    20. "Запуск новейшего российского радиолокационного спутника отложили на год" [The launch of the newest Russian radar satellite was postponed for a year]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). 29 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
    21. Krebs, Gunter (9 September 2019). "Obzor-R". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    22. Krebs, Gunter (9 September 2019). "Obzor-R". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    23. Report on the status of current and future Russian meteorological satellite systems. CGMS-49. Roscosmos / Roshydromet. 11 May 2021. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via the Internet Archive.
    24. Krebs, Gunter (28 February 2021). "Arktika-M 1, 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
    25. Krebs, Gunter (28 February 2021). "Arktika-M 1, 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
    26. Status of the Current and Future ESA Earth Observation Missions and Programmes. CGMS-49. ESA. 14 May 2021. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via the Internet Archive.
    27. "A new satellite to understand how Earth is losing its cool". ESA. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
    28. "Earth Explorer 9 Candidate Mission FORUM – Report for Mission Selection" (PDF). ESA. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
    29. "New launch service contracts for Vega C and new development activities". Avio (Press release). 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
    30. Axiom Space [@Axiom_Space] (30 November 2020). "The Axiom Lab module is the next step for astronaut-tended manufacturing & research in space. What industries could you reshape in microgravity?" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via Twitter.
    31. Shulgin, Dmitry (21 January 2021). "Российский «Экспресс» набирает обороты" [Russian "Ekspress" gaining momentum]. RSCC (in Russian). p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
    32. Holmes, Mark (15 October 2020). "Russian Space Leaders Split on GEO vs LEO at SatComRus". Via Satellite. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
    33. Erwin, Sandra (23 February 2021). "L3Harris gets $137 million contract for GPS digital payloads". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
    34. "Venus Life Finder Mission Study" (PDF). Venus Cloud Life. MIT. 10 December 2021. pp. 24–40. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
    35. Foust, Jeff (17 March 2022). "ESA suspends work with Russia on ExoMars mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
    36. "Esrange Space Center EASP Launching Programme" (PDF). Swedish Space Corporation. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
    37. "はやぶさ２、次のミッションは小惑星「１９９８ＫＹ２６」…ＪＡＸＡ". The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 13 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
    38. "EtherealX". Retrieved 17 April 2022.
    Generic references:
     Spaceflight portal
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.