Illustration · not to scale
Every launch, mission, contract and delay — updated daily, with the evidence behind it.
The Current
See what moved, when we saw it move, and the record behind it.
No material schedule changes observed between 17 Oct and 23 Oct 2026.
Progress
Twelve people walked on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. None of them stayed. A permanent base depends on ten capabilities working together — here is the chain.
Each part of the base stands for a capability a permanent outpost can’t do without. Swipe across it and tap a part to explore.Point at one to see what it takes.
On the schedule we track: 18 upcoming launches bound for lunar orbit, the next listed being Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) — 2026 (year estimate).
Programs
What each program is for — and where it stands, from the launch schedule we capture every day.
The Moon
NASA-led effort to return astronauts to the Moon and build toward a lasting presence there.
Orbit and beyond
SpaceX’s fully reusable super-heavy launch system, designed to cut the cost of reaching orbit and beyond.
Low Earth orbit
The orbiting laboratory where people have lived continuously since November 2000.
Low Earth orbit
China’s crewed space station in low Earth orbit.
Low Earth orbit
India’s program to fly its own astronauts on its own spacecraft.
Low Earth orbit
Amazon’s constellation of internet satellites in low Earth orbit.
Descriptions are editorial. Launch counts, dates and changes come from Launch Library 2 records captured daily; latest capture 13:01 UTC, 22 Oct 2026. Dates shown as a month, quarter or year are the provider’s own estimate windows.
Explore
Every upcoming launch on the schedule we track, grouped by where it is headed.
Destination
Where almost everything in space happens today — communications, navigation, observation, and the only places people live.
398
launches headed here on the schedule we track
Next listed: Starlink Group 15-16 — 26 Oct 2026, 05:00 UTC
See the satellites
Destination
Three days away, and where the major space programs plan their first long-term outposts beyond Earth orbit.
18
launches headed here on the schedule we track
Next listed: Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) — 2026
Can we build a base?
Destination
Robotic explorers lead the way — to Mars and its moons, to asteroids, and to observatories far beyond the Moon.
14
launches headed here on the schedule we track
Next listed: Mars Lander — 2026
Every launch leaving the Earth–Moon system
Stories
Essays and analysis on what it will take for humanity to live and work beyond Earth.
The first essays are coming soon. Sign up for the newsletter to get them when they’re published.
Intelligence
Underneath every page is a structured record: each fact captured from its source, kept with its provenance, and never silently overwritten.
53
open solicitations right now
19,202
launch-date observations captured
20
detected changes, each reviewed and evidenced
59
51 companies · 8 agencies with hubs