Space calendar 2021: Updates for October, November, December- Rocket launches, sky events, missions & much more!
The following written content by Hanneke Weitering via Space
LAST UPDATED Oct. 25: These dates are subject to change, and will be updated throughout the year as firmer dates arise. Please DO NOT schedule travel based on a date you see here. Launch dates are collected from NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, Spaceflight Now and others.
Watch NASA webcasts and other live launch coverage on our webcast page. Find out what’s up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide and skywatching forecast.
Oct. 25: A Chinese Kuaizhou 1A rocket will launch a Gaofen satellite to join the Jilin 1 Earth observation constellation. It will lift off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 2:20 a.m. EDT (0620 GMT).
Oct. 25: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will use an H-2A rocket to launch a replacement satellite for the country’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, a regional GPS system. Dubbed QZS 1R, the satellite will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center during a one-hour launch window that opens at 10 p.m. EDT (0200 Oct. 26 GMT).
Oct. 27: A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Progress 79 cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. It will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 Oct. 28 GMT).
Oct. 28: Astra will use its Rocket 3 to launch a test payload for the U.S. Space Force and the Space Test Program. It will lift off from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska, during a 3.5-hour launch window that opens at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT).
Oct. 31: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-3 mission, the third operational astronaut flight to the International Space Station. On board will be NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer. It will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 2:21 a.m. EDT (0621 GMT), and the Crew Dragon will dock with the space station on Nov. 1.
Also scheduled to launch in October (from Spaceflight Now):
- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket may launch 51 satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband internet constellation. It will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Station in California.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 2-3: The annual South Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight. Active from mid-September to mid-November, the Southern Taurids rarely produce more than five visible meteors per hour, but the nearly-new moon should make them easier to spot against a dark sky.
Nov. 4: The new moon arrives at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT).
Nov. 4: Uranus is at opposition, meaning it will appear at its biggest and brightest of the year. Shining at magnitude 5.7, the planet will be visible all night long in the constellation Aries. Uranus may be visible to the naked eye from dark locations but is best seen through a telescope or binoculars.
Nov. 7: Daylight Saving Time ends. Turn your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. local time.
Nov. 8: Conjunction of the moon and Venus. The waxing crescent moon will pass about 1 degree to the north of Venus. Look for the pair above the western horizon after sunset. Skywatchers in parts of Eastern Asia will see the moon occult Venus, meaning it will briefly pass in front of the planet, blocking it from sight.
Nov. 10: Conjunction of the moon and Saturn. The waxing crescent moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Saturn in the evening sky.
Nov. 11: Conjunction of the moon and Jupiter. The first-quarter moon will swing about 4 degrees to the south of Jupiter in the evening sky.
Nov. 11: Rocket Lab will use an Electron rocket to launch two Earth observation satellites for the Seattle-based company BlackSky Global. The mission, nicknamed “Love At First Insight,” will lift off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, at 11:25 p.m. EST (0425 GMT).
Nov. 11-12: The annual North Taurid meteor shower peaks overnight. The shower, which is active from late October to mid-December, is not expected to produce more than a handful of visible “shooting stars” per hour.
Nov. 16-17: One of the most anticipated meteor showers of the year, the Leonid meteor shower peaks overnight. The Leonids are expected to produce about 15 meteors per hour on the night of the peak, but the shower is active all month long.
Nov. 18: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket to launch the second COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG-2) radar surveillance satellite for the Italian space agency. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Florida, at 6:11 p.m. EST (2311 GMT).
Nov. 19: The full moon of November, known as the Full Beaver Moon, occurs at 3:58 a.m. EST (0858 GMT).
Nov. 19: A partial lunar eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. The moon will enter Earth’s faint outer shadow, known as the penumbra, at 1:02 a.m. EST (0602 GMT). The partial eclipse, when the moon will darken more noticeably, begins at 2:18 a.m. EST (0718 GMT). Maximum eclipse occurs at 4:02 a.m. EST (0902 GMT). The entire event will last about six hours.
Nov. 22: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the STP-3 rideshare mission for the U.S. Space Force. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Nov. 24: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, at 1:20 a.m. EST (0620 GMT).
Nov. 24: Russia will use a Soyuz rocket to launch a new module to the International Space Station. The Uzlovoy Module, also known as Prichal, will dock with Russia’s Nauka science module and will serve as a docking port for Russian vehicles. The mission will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 8:06 a.m. EST (1306 GMT).
Nov. 27: Rocket Lab will use an Electron rocket to launch two Earth observation satellites for the Seattle-based company BlackSky Global. The mission will lift off from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.
Nov. 30: An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch two satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. It will lift off from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, at 7:35 p.m. EST (0035 Dec. 1 GMT).
Also scheduled to launch in November (from Spaceflight Now):
- An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch three CERES satellites for the French military. (CERES stands for “Capacité de Renseignement d’origine Electromagnétique Spatiale,” which translates to “Intelligence Capacity of Space Electromagnetic Origin.”) The mission will lift off from the Guiana Spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana.
DECEMBER
Dec. 4: The only total solar eclipse of the year (and the last total solar eclipse until 2023) will be visible from Antarctica. Skywatchers in South Africa, Namibia, the southern tip of South America and some islands in the South Atlantic will be able to see at least a partial solar eclipse, with the moon blocking a portion of the sun from view.
Wondering what happened today in space history? Check out our “On This Day in Space” video show here!
Dec. 4: The new moon arrives at 2:44 a.m. EST (0744 GMT)- Read more from Space.
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