Upcoming Space Missions

Note: This Web page is updated on a weekly basis.

Launch of a space shuttle Credit: NASA

Below is a list of upcoming, notable space missions. Note that launch dates can always change -- even at the last minute -- for a variety of reasons:

Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) -- A Japanese satellite scheduled for launch from Japan January 21.

Koronas-Foton solar observatory -- A Russian Space Agency spacecraft scheduled for launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on January 29.

Soyuz Progress 32P -- A Russian cargo vehicle is scheduled for launch to the International Space Station February 10.

Space Shuttle Discovery -- Mission to the International Space Station. Launch is projected to occur February 12.

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory -- A mission to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide. Launch is scheduled aboard an Orbital Sciences Taurus XL launch vehicle February 23.

The Kepler Mission -- Kepler is a NASA mission to detect Earth-size (and smaller) planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. Launch is projected to occur March 5/6, and will be on a Delta II launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) -- A European Space Agency mission to study ocean circulation and change in sea level. Launch is projected to occur March 11 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia.

Herschel & Planck observatories -- An Ariane 5 rocket will launch these European Space Agency observatories into Earth orbit from Kourou, French Guiana. Launch is projected to occur April 10.

Soyuz Progress 33P -- A Russian cargo vehicle is scheduled for launch to the International Space Station April 22.

Lunar Reconnisance Orbiter -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a Moon orbiting mission. Launch, which is projected to occur in late April, will be on a Delta II launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Space Shuttle Atlantis -- Final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Launch is projected to occur in mid-May.

Space Shuttle Endeavour -- Mission to the International Space Station. Launch is projected to occur in mid-May.

Name A Star Live -- Our next Earth-orbiting mission is projected to occur in the third quarter of 2009.

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