2026 in spaceflight explained

Programme:	Timeline of spaceflight
Previous Mission:	2025
Next Mission:	2027

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

NASA plans to launch the Artemis 2 mission on the Space Launch System, sending astronauts around the Moon on a ten-day lunar flyby.

The first Indian crewed spaceflight, Gaganyaan-4, is planned for 2026.^[1]

China plans to launch Chang'e 7 to explore the lunar south pole in late 2026.^[2] The mission will include an orbiter, a relay satellite, a lander, a rover, and a mini-flying probe.^[3]

China also plans to launch Xuntian, a large space telescope that will co-orbit with the Tiangong space station, in 2026.

Orbital launches

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|colspan=8 style="background:white;"|

|-

|}

Suborbital flights

|}

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
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0	Includes Soyuz launches from Kourou
		0	0	0	0
World	0	0	0	0	-->

By rocket

By family

Family	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
Atlas		0	0	0	0
Delta		0	0	0	0
	/	0	0	0	0	Includes Zenit
		0	0	0	0
H-II		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
Kuaizhou		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
R-7		0	0	0	0
R-36		0	0	0	0
Safir		0	0	0	0
Shavit		0	0	0	0
Universal Rocket		0	0	0	0
Vega		0	0	0	0	-->

By type

Rocket	Country	Family	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Angara A5		Angara	0	0	0	0
Ariane 5		Ariane	0	0	0	0
Atlas V		Atlas	0	0	0	0
Delta II		Delta	0	0	0	0
Delta IV		Delta	0	0	0	0
Dnepr		R-36	0	0	0	0
Falcon 9		Falcon	0	0	0	0
		ILV	0	0	0	0
Kuaizhou		Kuaizhou	0	0	0	0
		ILV	0	0	0	0
H-IIA		H-II	0	0	0	0
		Long March	0	0	0	0
		Long March	0	0	0	0
		Long March	0	0	0	0
Proton		Universal Rocket	0	0	0	0
Safir		Safir	0	0	0	0
Shavit		Shavit	0	0	0	0
Soyuz		R-7	0	0	0	0
UR-100		Universal Rocket	0	0	0	0
Vega		Vega	0	0	0	0	-->

By configuration

Rocket	Country	Type	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
		Ariane 5	0	0	0	0
Atlas V 421		Atlas V	0	0	0	0
Atlas V 551		Atlas V	0	0	0	0
Delta II 7320		Delta II	0	0	0	0
Delta IV Medium+ (4,2)		Delta IV	0	0	0	0
		R-36	0	0	0	0
		Falcon 9	0	0	0	0
H-IIA 202		H-II	0	0	0	0
Long March 3C/YZ-1		Long March 3	0	0	0	0
		Proton	0	0	0	0
		PSLV	0	0	0	0
		UR-100	0	0	0	0
		Safir	0	0	0	0
		Soyuz	0	0	0	0
		Soyuz	0	0	0	0
		Soyuz	0	0	0	0
		Soyuz	0	0	0	0
		Vega	0	0	0	0	-->

By spaceport

Site	Country	Launches	Successes	Failures	Partial failures	Remarks
Baikonur		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
Dombarovsky		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
Kennedy		0	0	0	0
Kourou		0	0	0	0
Mahia		0	0	0	0
MARS		0	0	0	0
Palmachim		0	0	0	0
Plesetsk		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
Semnan		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
Tanegashima		0	0	0	0
Uchinoura		0	0	0	0
Vandenberg		0	0	0	0
Vostochny		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0
		0	0	0	0	-->

By orbit

Orbital regime	Launches	Achieved	Not achieved	Accidentally achieved	Remarks
Transatmospheric	0	0	0	0
Low Earth	0	0	0	0
	0	0	0	0
Medium Earth	0	0	0	0
High Earth	0	0	0	0
Heliocentric orbit	0	0	0	0	Including planetary transfer orbits

Expected maiden flights

• Long March 10A – CASC – China
• MLV – Firefly Aerospace – USA
• Razor Crest Mk-1 – EtherealX – India^[6]
• Terran R – Relativity Space – USA
• Dauntless – Vaya space – USA^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 28 October 2024 . India's Gaganyaan Mission delayed, won’t be launched in 2025, announces ISRO . 28 October 2024 . Firstpost.
2. Web site: Jones . Andrew . UAE rover to fly on China's Chang'e-7 lunar south pole mission . . 19 September 2022 . 19 September 2022.
3. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Next China moon mission will need precision landing to target ice at south pole . . 29 March 2022 . 8 April 2022.
4. Web site: Psyche - Mission . 13 October 2023 . JPL.
5. News: September 13, 2020 . はやぶさ２、次のミッションは小惑星「１９９８ＫＹ２６」…ＪＡＸＡ . Japanese . . 2020-09-14 . 5 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201205174454/https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/science/20200913-OYT1T50040/ . dead .
6. Web site: EtherealX . 17 April 2022.
7. Web site: LAUNCH . 2024-08-21 . Vaya Space . en.