Upcoming Events
Static Fire
Oct. 19, 2020, 11:01 a.m.
Starship SN8 Preburner Test
Boca Chica, TexasSN8 conducted a preburner test of the raptor engines in preparation for the future 15km flight.
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Change of Command
Oct. 20, 2020, midnight
ISS Expedition 63-64 Change of Command Ceremony
International Space Station International Space Station Soyuz 2.1a | Soyuz MS-17 Expedition 63NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Expedition 63 commander, will hand over the International Space Station command to ROSCOSMOS cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov who will become commander of Expedition 64.
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Spacecraft Event
Oct. 20, 2020, 4 a.m.
OSIRIS-Rex Sample Collection
101955 BennuThe OSIRIS-REx is a NASA asteroid study and sample-return mission. The mission's main goal is to obtain a sample of at least 60 grams from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid, and return the sample to Earth for a detailed analysis. Rehearsals will be performed before the sampling event, during which the solar arrays will be raised into a Y-shaped configuration to minimize the chance of dust accumulation during contact and provide more ground clearance in case the spacecraft tips over (up to 45°) during contact. The descent will be very slow to minimize thruster firings prior to contact in order to reduce the likelihood of asteroid surface contamination by unreacted hydrazine propellant. Contact with the surface of Bennu will be detected using accelerometers, and the impact force will be dissipated by a spring in the TAGSAM arm. Upon surface contact by the TAGSAM instrument, a burst of nitrogen gas ...
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Static Fire
Oct. 20, 2020, 11 a.m.
Starship SN8 Static Fire
Boca Chica, TexasStarship SN8 will perform a static fire of its raptor engines following the previous preburner test.
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Undocking
Oct. 21, 2020, 11:32 p.m.
Soyuz MS-16 Undocking
International Space Station International Space Station Soyuz 2.1a | Soyuz MS-16 Expedition 63The Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station carrying three Expedition 62 crew members : ROSCOSMOS cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner as well as NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy.
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Landing
Oct. 22, 2020, 2:57 a.m.
Soyuz MS-16 Landing
Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan International Space Station Soyuz 2.1a | Soyuz MS-16 Expedition 63The Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft carrying ROSCOSMOS cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner as well as NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy will land back on Earth near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.
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Press Event
Oct. 31, 2020, midnight
SpaceX Starship Architecture Update 2020
Boca Chica, TXElon Musk will host an event where updated details of the Starship and Super Heavy development will be shown.
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Static Fire
Nov. 14, 2020, midnight
SLS Green Run Hot Fire
Stennis Space Center, MississippiThe core stage of the 'Space Launch System' will undergo a 'Green Run' test, where the stage and major components will be tested as a full stack to ensure safety of the vehicle. Part of the testing will involve a 8 minute 'Hot Fire' of the core stage, demonstrating performance similar to an actual launch.
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Landing
Dec. 1, 2020, 5 a.m.
Hayabusa-2 Sample Returns to Earth
EarthWhen Hayabusa-2 flies past Earth in December 2020, it will release the capsule spinning at one revolution per three seconds. The capsule will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at 12 km/s and it will deploy a radar-reflective parachute at an altitude of about 10 km, and eject its heat-shield, while transmitting a position beacon signal. The sample capsule will land at the Woomera Test Range in Australia.
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Orbital Insertion
Feb. 1, 2021, midnight
Emirates Mars Mission 'Hope' Mars Orbit Insertion
Mars H-IIA 202 | Hope (Emirates Mars Mission)The Emirates Mars Mission 'Hope' will enter an orbit around Mars after its six months interplanetary journey.
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Orbital Insertion
Feb. 11, 2021, midnight
Tianwen-1 Mars Orbit Insertion
Mars Long March 5 | Tianwen-1 (Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover)The Tianwen-1 orbiter and rover will perform a 14 minutes long burn to enter an elliptical orbit around Mars.
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Landing
Feb. 18, 2021, midnight
NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing
Jezero crater, Mars Atlas V 541 | Mars 2020 (Perseverance rover & Ingenuity helicopter)NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land in the Jezero crater using a MSL-inspired sky-crane. It will investigate an astrobiologically relevant ancient environment on Mars and investigate its surface geological processes and history, including the assessment of its past habitability, the possibility of past life on Mars, and the potential for preservation of biosignatures within accessible geological materials. It will cache sample containers along its route for a potential future Mars sample-return mission. It will also carry a helicopter drone.
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Landing
April 1, 2021, midnight
Tianwen-1 Rover Landing
Utopia Planitia, Mars Long March 5 | Tianwen-1 (Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover)The Tianwen-1 rover will attempt to land on Mars using a parachute to slow down and a propulsive landing for the final 1.5km of the descent.
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Landing
Sept. 1, 2023, 4 a.m.
OSIRIS-Rex Sample Return
EarthIn September 2023 the OSIRIS-REx return capsule will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land under a parachute at the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range
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