1118 events tracked
US Vice President Mike Pence will convene the 8th meeting of the National Space Council at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on December 9 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The meeting will be livestreamed on NASA TV.
Kennedy Space Center
Camera views of the total solar eclipse in South America will be broadcasted on NASA TV.
South America
The Chang'e 5 sample-return capsule will enter the Earth's atmosphere and land in Dorbod Banner, Inner Mongolia.
Dorbod Banner, Inner Mongolia, China
Engineers demonstrated loading, controlling and draining more than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of cryogenic propellants into the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks and then returning the stage to a safe condition. Toward the end of the simulated terminal countdown, the test automatically stopped due to a valve closure being off by a fraction of a second. The team has corrected the timing, and additional analysis clears the way for hot fire.
Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
Solar Orbiter, a partnership between ESA and NASA, flew by Venus on 27 December with a closest approach of 7500 km at 12:39 UTC. Throughout its mission it makes repeated gravity assist flybys of Venus to get closer to the Sun, and to change its orbital inclination, boosting it out of the ecliptic plane, to get the best – and first – views of the Sun’s poles.
Venus
SpaceX has conducted a pressure test on Starship SN9.
Boca Chica, Texas
SpaceX conducted a Cryo test on SN9. The RCS thrusters were also tested.
Boca Chica, Texas
NASA will hold a media teleconference providing updates on the deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope.
SpaceX likely conducted pressure tests on Starship SN9's header tanks.
Boca Chica, Texas
The Northrop Grumman NG-14 Cygnus will be unberthed from the ISS before initiating a destructive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere taking waste along with it.
International Space Station
SpaceX performed a static fire on Starship SN9's three raptor engines.
Boca Chica, Texas
The SpaceX CRS-21 Dragon spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station ahead of its reentry, splashdown and recovery.
International Space Station
SpaceX conducted a second static fire test on Starship SN9's raptor engines.
Boca Chica, Texas
SpaceX conducted a third static fire test on Starship SN9's raptor engines.
Boca Chica, Texas
SpaceX has conducted a fourth static fire test on Starship SN9's raptor engines.
Boca Chica, Texas
The core stage of the Space Launch System will undergo the final 'Green Run' test, where the four RS-25 engines will be fired for 8 minutes, demonstrating performance similar to an actual launch.
Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
NASA will host a press conference on the results of the SLS Green Run Hot Fire. The test was aborted approximately 1 minute into an 8 minute hot fire.
SpaceX might conduct a fifth static fire test on Starship SN9's raptor engines.
Boca Chica, Texas
SpaceX might conduct a sixth static fire test on Starship SN9's raptor engines.
Boca Chica, Texas
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover will exit the orbital lab on January 27 to perform upgrades on the Columbus module.
International Space Station