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Orbital Current

The Current

Latest Space Changes

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

Can we build a Moon base?

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.

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 humanity is building

What each program is for — and where it stands, from the launch schedule we capture every day.

The Moon

Artemis

NASA-led effort to return astronauts to the Moon and build toward a lasting presence there.

Next on the schedule
Artemis III — June 2027
Latest schedule change
Gateway PPE & HALO: target widened from 2027 to sometime in the 2020s · seen 16 Oct
6 launches on the schedule we trackSchedule history →

Orbit and beyond

Starship

SpaceX’s fully reusable super-heavy launch system, designed to cut the cost of reaching orbit and beyond.

Next on the schedule
Flight 15 — Q4 2026
Latest schedule change
Target unchanged since tracking began 13 Sep 2026.
1 launch on the schedule we trackSchedule history →

Low Earth orbit

International Space Station

The orbiting laboratory where people have lived continuously since November 2000.

Next on the schedule
Progress MS-36 (97P) — 24 Nov 2026, 05:03 UTC
Latest schedule change
HTV-X2: target moved from 2026 into 2027 · seen 9 Oct
17 launches on the schedule we trackSchedule history →

Low Earth orbit

Tiangong

China’s crewed space station in low Earth orbit.

Next on the schedule
Shenzhou 24 — H2 2026
Latest schedule change
Target unchanged since tracking began 5 Sep 2026.
1 launch on the schedule we trackSchedule history →

Low Earth orbit

Gaganyaan

India’s program to fly its own astronauts on its own spacecraft.

Next on the schedule
Gaganyaan-1 — November 2026
Latest schedule change
Gaganyaan-1: target narrowed from Q4 2026 to November 2026 · seen 26 Sep
5 launches on the schedule we trackSchedule history →

Low Earth orbit

Amazon Leo

Amazon’s constellation of internet satellites in low Earth orbit.

Next on the schedule
Amazon Leo (LV-01) — 29 Oct 2026
Latest schedule change
Amazon Leo (LE-04): target narrowed from November 2026 to 23 Nov 2026 · seen 15 Oct
93 launches on the schedule we trackSchedule history →

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

Where are we going next?

Every upcoming launch on the schedule we track, grouped by where it is headed.

Destination

Earth orbit

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

The Moon

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

Mars and beyond

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

The bigger questions

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.

Newsletter

Follow humanity’s move into space.

An occasional email from Orbital Current: the developments that mattered, what changed, and new stories when they’re published.

We keep your email address to send you Orbital Current, and for nothing else.

Intelligence

Need to go deeper?

Underneath every page is a structured record: each fact captured from its source, kept with its provenance, and never silently overwritten.