Launch Schedule

2013

January

 * NASA and Bigelow Aerospace announce plans for inflatable station modules
NASA buys private inflatable module for the International Space Station. NASA announced the plan to Expand ISS by using the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on 16 January 2013.

 * NASA Launches Next-Generation Communications Satellite - Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K (TDRS-K).

TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services.

NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K (TDRS-K) was launched at 8:48 pm EST on 30 January 2013 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

February

 * The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. Launch date: February 11, 2013 on a Atlas V-401 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

 * ISS Progress 50
Progress 50 will carry supplies, hardware, fuel and water to the International Space Station. Launch date: February 12, 2013 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

* Orbital Sciences Corporation Test Flight
The Antares Rocket is scheduled for a test flight under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services agreement with the company. Launch: February 2013 from Wallops Flight Facility, Va.

March

 * SpaceX-2 Commercial Resupply Services Flight
SpaceX-2 will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). It maybe launched on 1 March 2013 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX CRS-2 is the 2nd SpaceX operational mission contracted to NASA under a Commercial Resupply Services contract. It is the 4th fourth flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft . It maybe launched on 1 March 2013.

 * Assembly Flight: 34S
Soyuz TMA-08M will carry three Expedition 35/36 crew members to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on March 28, 2013 on a Soyuz Rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

April

 * Orbital Sciences Corporation Test Flight
The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for a demonstration flight on an Orbital Antares launch vehicle under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services agreement with the company. Cygnus will make an attempt to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station. It maybe launched on April 5 on a Antares/Cygnus launch vehicle from Wallops Flight Facility, Va.

 * ISS Automated Transfer Vehicle 4
The European Space Agency’s ATV-4, also known as the “Albert Einstein,” will deliver several tons of supplies to the International Space Station. It will dock with the Zvezda Service Module, part of the Russian segment of the station. It might be launched on April 18, 2013 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

 * ISS Progress 51
Progress 51 will carry supplies, hardware, fuel and water to the International Space Station. It maybe launched April 24, 2013 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on a Soyuz Rocket.

* Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)
IRIS is designed to provide significant new information to increase our understanding of energy transport into the corona and solar wind and provide an archetype for all stellar atmospheres. IRIS will be launched on April 28 on a Pegasus XL from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

 * First Vietnamese Earth Observation Satellite
VNREDSat 1A is Vietnam's 1st Earth observation satellite. It will be launched on 2nd Flight of Europe's Vega launcher in April 2013.

May

 * Assembly Flight: 35S:
Soyuz TMA-09M will carry three Expedition 36/37 crew members to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on May 28 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on a Soyuz Rocket.

July

 * ISS Progress 52:
Progress 52 will carry supplies, hardware, fuel and water to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on 24 July 2013 on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

August

 * Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)
LADEE will gather detailed information about conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. A thorough understanding of these influences will help researchers understand how future exploration may shape the lunar environment and how the environment may affect future explorers. It maybe launched on August 12 on a Minotaur V from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0B, Wallops Flight Facility, Va.

September

 * Assembly Flight: 36S
Description: Soyuz TMA-10M will carry three Expedition 37/38 crew members to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on September 25 2013 on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

 * SpaceX-3 Commercial Resupply Services Flight:
SpaceX-3 will be the third commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). It maybe launched on September 30 on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 40.

October

 * ISS Progress 53:
Progress 53 will carry supplies, hardware, fuel and water to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on October 16, 2013 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on a Soyuz Rocket.

November

 * Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN)
MAVEN will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. The mission's goal is to determine the role that loss of atmospheric gas to space played in changing the Martian climate through time. It maybe launched on November 18 on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

 * Assembly Flight: 37S
Description: Soyuz TMA-11M will carry three Expedition 38/39 crew members to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on Date: November 25, 2013 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on a Soyuz Rocket.

December

 *  Assembly Flight: 3R - Multipurpose Laboratory Module with European Robotic Arm (ERA)
A Russian Proton rocket will deliver the Multipurpose Laboratory Module with European Robotic Arm (ERA) to the International Space Station. It maybe launched on a December 11, 2013 on a Proton Rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Dates Not Known

 * Russia’s First Private Satellite to Be Launched in 2013:

Russia’s first satellite manufactured and operated by a private firm will be launched in 2013.

 * ASTRO-G: ASTRO-G (also known as VSOP-2) is a planned radio telescope satellite under development by JAXA. It is expected to be launched in fiscal year 2012 into elliptic orbit around Earth (apogee height 25,000 km, perigee height 1,000 km). Astro-G was selected in February 2006 against the competition of a proposed new X-Ray astronomy mission (NeXT) and a proposed solar sail mission to Jupiter. Funding will start from FY 2007 with a budget of 12 billion yen, around 100 million US dollars.

Featuring a 9 m diameter dish antenna to observe in 8, 22 and 43 GHz bands, it will be used in a combination of ground radio telescopes to create Very Long Baseline Interferometry. It is expected to achieve ten times higher resolution and ten times higher sensitivity than its predecessor HALCA. It was planned to be launched in 2012 but a technical difficulty of dish antenna as well as the budget constraint lead to put the development on hold for fiscal year 2010, and the launch is to be delayed no earlier than 2013.

 * Chang'e 3: Chang'e 3 is a Chinese lunar-lander and rover scheduled for launch in 2013. It will be China's first lunar rover, part of the second phase of the Chinese lunar exploration program undertaken by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

 * Chandrayaan 2: Chandrayaan-2 is a joint lunar exploration mission proposed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA). The mission includes a lunar orbiter and a lunar rover made in India as well as one lander built by Russia. It might be launched in 2013 by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

 * Luna-Glob (Russian Robotic Moon Mission): Luna-Glob is an unmanned mission to the Moon planned by Russia and maybe launched in 2012 by a Soyuz-Fregate rocket. Luna-Glob may include an orbiter as well as a landing module with 12 ground penetrating sensors. The largest two of them will most likely be a reuse of sensors previously built for the cancelled Japanese mission LUNAR-A. Luna-Glob will land a surface probe in South Pole-Aitken basin at the Moon's south pole, where it will search for signs of water ice.

2014

 * BepiColombo: BepiColombo is a Mercury exploration project jointly planned by Japan and the European Space Agency (ESA). Two spacecraft will be launched by a Soyuz-Fregat 2B rocket in 2013. The spacecraft will be separated at the Mercury orbit and observe Mercury for about 1 year under collaboration.

 * Google Lunar X Prize: The challenge calls for teams to compete in successfully launching, landing and operating a rover on the lunar surface. The prize awards US$20 million to the first team to land a rover on the moon that successfully roves more than 500 meters and transmits back high definition images and video.  The X Prize awards the first prize until December 31, 2012, thereafter it awards $15 million until December 31, 2014.

 * NASA's Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014
Orion Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) is the 1st planned un-crewed test flight of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Launch scheduled for September 2014.

 *  Chinese Lunar Sample Return Mission: China plans a lunar sample return mission in 2017 using of the CZ-5/E heavy launch vehicle. Up to two kilograms of lunar samples may be returned to Earth.

BEYOND 2018

Selene-2 is a proposed Japanese moon lander as a successor to the 2007 SELENE (Kaguya) moon orbiter. The exact configuration has not yet released.

Hopefully there will be a Mars Sample Return Mission.
- Humans may return to the Moon and set up base.