Month-by-month guide to the most important space industry events, launches, conferences, and milestones for 2026. Never miss a critical date.
77th International Astronautical Congress, the world's premier space conference
Milan, Italy
Sierra Space Dream Chaser ISS cargo delivery
Premier aerospace research conference
San Diego, CA
SpaceX continues rapid Starship iteration
Did not occur as projected — no Starship flight took place between the 2023-2025 test campaign and Flight 13 (Jul 24, 2026), which turned out to be the vehicle's next flight and first operational payload. See verified flight history
Spectrum allocation and debris rule updates
Small satellite industry gathering
Mountain View, CA
Mid-term review of ESA program commitments
Second orbital flight of New Glenn heavy-lift vehicle
Occurred earlier than projected — New Glenn's second flight, which landed its booster, actually flew in November 2025, before this window. See launch vehicle database
Abu Dhabi space industry summit
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Satellite technology conference
London, UK
SLS/Orion stack rolls out to LC-39B for final preparations
Confirmed — SLS/Orion rolled out to LC-39B ahead of the successful Apr 1 Artemis II launch. See Artemis mission timeline
Kennedy Space Center, FL
The largest satellite industry conference in the world, with 15,000+ attendees
Washington, DC
Pre-symposium workshops and briefings
Colorado Springs, CO
First crewed Artemis mission: 4 astronauts on a lunar flyby. First humans beyond LEO since 1972.
Confirmed — Artemis II flew Apr 1-10, 2026, carrying Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen around the Moon and safely home. Read the full mission archive
Kennedy Space Center, FL
41st annual Space Symposium hosted by Space Foundation
Colorado Springs, CO
SpaceX targets first Starship V3 operational Starlink deployment
Occurred later than projected — flew as Flight 13 on Jul 24, 2026, deploying the first operational batch of next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. See Flight 13 details
UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space legal session
Vienna, Austria
Geospatial intelligence conference with space focus
Denver, CO
Maiden orbital flight of Neutron medium-lift vehicle
Delayed — Neutron had not yet flown as of Aug 2026; still listed as targeting a maiden flight later in 2026 from Wallops Island. See launch vehicle database
Annual ISS research and development conference
Boston, MA
Amazon Kuiper first operational satellite batch deployment
Delayed — as of Aug 2026, Amazon had only its 2 Kuiper prototype satellites active; the FCC's 50%-deployment deadline was waived out to 2029. See constellation tracker
Reuters flagship space industry and investment summit
London, UK
SpaceX completed its initial public offering, raising $75B at an approximately $1.78T valuation -- one of the largest tech IPOs on record.
69th session of the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
Vienna, Austria
Biennial aerospace show (if scheduled; alternates with Farnborough)
Le Bourget, France
Major aerospace trade show with growing space pavilion
Farnborough, UK
PPE/HALO module launch for International Lunar Gateway
Did not occur as projected — NASA's Feb 2026 Artemis restructuring pushed the first Gateway-era mission out to Artemis IV (targeted ~2028); no Gateway module has launched. See Artemis mission timeline
European new space industry conference
Luxembourg
Annual small satellite conference at Utah State
Logan, UT
Commercial direct-to-device constellation expansion
Space technology exhibition and conference
Long Beach, CA
Premier satellite business networking event
Paris, France
Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance conference
Maui, HI
ULA Vulcan Centaur national security launch. (Vulcan earned its NSSL certification back in Oct 2024 — this is a routine mission in the ongoing assured-access cadence, not a certification flight.)
77th International Astronautical Congress, the world's premier space conference
Milan, Italy
Continued Ariane 6 A64 heavy-lift cadence. (The A64 variant already debuted in Feb 2026 with an Amazon Kuiper launch — this is a follow-on mission, not the first.)
Space startup and investor networking week
San Jose, CA
European space technology exhibition
Bremen, Germany
Sierra Space Dream Chaser ISS cargo delivery
Space commerce conference and exposition
Orlando, FL
Year-end space policy review and outlook
Washington, DC
Final regional preparatory conference for WRC-27 spectrum decisions
Q4 2026 Space Industry Scorecard published
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