2024 is a busy year for spaceflight and exploration enthusiasts with countless launches, mission milestones and skywatching events to look forward to.
With so much going on, it's hard to keep track of everything. Never fear — keep up with the latest events in our 2024 space calendar. You can also Find out what's up in the night sky this month with our visible planets guide and skywatching forecast.
Please note: Launch 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 events, ESA news, Roscosmos space launch schedule, Spaceflight Now launch schedule, Everyday Astronaut, Supercluster and others.
Related: Wondering what happened today in space history? Check out our "On This Day in Space" video!
November
November 15: November's Beaver Moon will occur on Nov. 15 at 4:28 p.m. Eastern Time (2128 GMT). A day later, Mercury will be at greatest eastern elongation; meaning it will be at its furthest distance east of the sun and visible in the evening sky for a short period after sunset. The full Beaver Moon will cross the sky beside the well-known Pleiades star cluster, also referred to as the "Seven Sisters," in the Taurus constellation, and will be the last Supermoon of 2024.
November 18: SpaceX is targeting Nov. 18 for its next Starship launch. Integrated Test Flight-6 (IFT-6) of SpaceX's Starship and Super Heavy booster is scheduled to lift off no earlier than Monday, Nov. 18, from the company's Starbase test site near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. Liftoff is set for 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT) during a 30-minute launch window.
Flight 6 will attempt to capture the Super Heavy booster back at the launch site using giant metal "chopsticks." Starship will attempt a "soft landing" splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
November 21: Russia will launch its 90th cargo craft to fly to the International Space Station (ISS). The unpiloted Progress MS-29 freighter will launch on a Soyuz rocket from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress MS-29 (or 90P, per NASA's designation) will be packed with nearly three tons of food, scientific equipment and other supplies for the astronauts aboard the ISS.
November: Blue Origin will launch its New Glenn rocket from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket stands about 322 feet (98 meters) tall and can send 50 tons (45 metric tons) to low Earth orbit, and will be Blue Origin's first orbital rocket. The company is now in the final stretch of preparations for the upcoming launch. New Glenn will carry the company's new Blue Ring spacecraft platform on a National Security Space Launch certification flight.
Related: Blue Origin fires up 2nd stage of huge New Glenn rocket ahead of debut launch (video)
December
December 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower occurs between Nov.19 to Dec. 24 and this year will peak on the nights of Dec.13 and Dec. 14. The shower can produce 130 to 140 meteors per hour on a clear sky. Year after year, the Geminids are the strongest meteor shower in terms of rates, with well over 100 possibly appearing per hour.
Read more: Meteor showers 2024: When is the next one?
December 15, 4:02 a.m. EST (0902 GMT): December's full moon, called the Cold Moon, falls on Dec. 15 and will be situated amidst the season's brightest constellations as it says goodbye to 2024.
December 21: Winter arrives to the Northern Hemisphere December 21, marking the shortest day of the year. Earth's axis will be titled the farthest away from the sun. In the lead-up to the Winter Solstice, the days become shorter and shorter, then on the evening of the solstice — in the Northern Hemisphere occurs annually on the 21st or 22nd of December — winter begins, according to a NASA resource. From then onwards the days become increasingly long leading up to the Summer Solstice, or the June Solstice, and the longest day of the year.
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