Space calendar 2024: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

September 28: SpaceX will launch its ninth operational crewed mission for NASA. Crew-9 will fly NASA astronaut and U.S. Space Force commander Nick Hague, and Roscosmos astronaut and mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station (ISS). This will leave two seats empty in the Crew Dragon to bring home NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are unable to return to Earth aboard Boeing Starliner as planned. 

Read more: NASA cuts 2 astronauts from SpaceX Crew-9 mission to make room for Boeing Starliner crew

NET September: Upon the arrival of Crew-9 to the space station, Crew-8 will begin preparations to return to Earth. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeannette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin arrived to the ISS in March, and will wrap-up their rotation aboard the orbiting lab. A specific date and landing location has not yet been announced. 

October 2: A "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse will pass over parts of the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina. About 175,000 people live in the visual path of this eclipse, according to Time and Date. During an annular solar eclipse, it is NEVER safe to look directly at the sun without solar eclipse glasses designed for solar viewing. Read our guide on how to observe the sun safely. 

October 8: The Draconid meteor shower 2024 is active between Oct. 6 and Oct. 10 and will peak around Oct. 8. Viewing conditions for the Draconids are favorable this year as although the moon will be 27% illuminated during the time of the peak, it will set about 9 p.m. local time, allowing for a night of meteor hunting in a moonless sky. The Draconids are caused by Earth passing through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner as it hurtles through the solar system, passing Earth once every 6.6 years, according to NASA Science. 

October 10: SpaceX will launch NASA's Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa on a Falcon Heavy rocket, from Launch Complex 39-A, at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. Europa is one of the most promising places in the solar system to hunt for extraterrestrial life. Several missions have gathered evidence that Europa contains a huge ocean in its interior, beneath a shell of ice estimated to be between 2 to 20 miles (3 to 30 kilometers) thick according to NASA. Europa Clipper will reach Jupiter on April 11, 2030, when it will enter a long, looping orbit around the gas giant. 

Read more: NASA's Europa Clipper on track for Oct. 10 launch to Jupiter's icy moon despite radiation worries

October 14-18: The 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) will see the arrival in Milan of over 8,000 experts from industry, research and the institutions and place Italy at the heart of the international debate on the use of Space to support sustainability.

October 17, at 7:26 a.m. EDT (11:26 GMT): With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it is time to hunt. Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, also other animals that have come out to glean and can be caught for a Thanksgiving banquet after the harvest.

October 20-21: The Orionid meteor shower is active between Sept. 26 to Nov. 22 and will peak on Oct. 20-21 between midnight and dawn, with clear-sky rates of about 20 meteors per hour can be expected. Viewing conditions for the Orionids are not good this year as the moon will be 79% illuminated at the time of the peak. Sometimes the Orionid meteor shower produces spectacular displays of up to 80 meteors an hour, but in recent years it has produced more modest displays of about 20 or 30 visible meteors per hour. The Orionid meteor shower is produced when Earth passes through the debris or ice and dust left behind from Comet 1P/Halley, more commonly known as Halley's Comet. 

Read more: Orionid meteor shower 2024: When, where & how to see it

NET November: After a successful test flight in June, where SpaceX managed to soft land both Starship and its Super Heavy booster in the ocean, the company is targeting sometime in the next few weeks for the megarocket's next launch. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has stated IFT-5 will attempt to catch Starships first stage booster using the launch tower's "chopstick" arms, a first for the rocket as its development evolves toward reusability.

Related: SpaceX's Starship won't be licensed to fly again until late November, FAA says

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 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.