I simply poured my second cup of espresso, opened the worldwide launch manifest, and truthfully, I needed to blink twice. When you thought January was busy, February 2026 is shaping as much as be an absolute visitors jam in low Earth orbit.
We’re every thing from secretive area planes and human crew missions to the heavy-lifting giants of ULA and Ariane combating for dominance. It looks like each main spaceport on the planet is lively this month.
I’ve damaged down the chaos under, however first, I need to spotlight the missions that I’m personally setting my alarm for.
The Thriller of the “Divine Dragon”
Probably the most intriguing launch on my radar is occurring this Saturday, February seventh. China is launching its Reusable Area Car (typically nicknamed “Shenlong” or Divine Dragon) on a Lengthy March 2F/G.
Why do I care? As a result of that is mainly the sibling rival to the US Air Power’s X-37B. It’s extremely categorised. We don’t know precisely what it appears to be like like, we don’t know what it’s carrying, and we don’t understand how lengthy it’s going to keep up there. It launches, orbits, after which lands on a runway like an airplane. The secrecy round this mission at all times offers me chills—it jogs my memory that the area race has advanced from “flags and footprints” to high-tech orbital maneuvers.
People Returning to Orbit: Crew-12
Just some days later, on Wednesday, February eleventh, SpaceX is doing what it does finest: sending astronauts to area. The Crew-12 mission is about to elevate off from Florida.
Although Falcon 9 launches really feel routine now, I by no means get uninterested in watching a crewed launch. There’s a totally different power within the management room and a unique pressure within the air when there are heartbeats on board. This mission retains the ISS totally staffed and operational.
The Heavyweight Championship: Vulcan vs. Ariane 6
That is the place the engineering nerd in me will get excited. We’ve got two huge launches back-to-back:
USSF-87 (Feb 12): ULA is launching a Vulcan rocket for the US Area Power. This can be a vital nationwide safety mission.Amazon Leo (Feb 12): On the exact same day, Arianespace is launching an Ariane 64.
It’s uncommon to see two heavy-lift automobiles from totally different continents launching inside hours of one another. It actually exhibits how aggressive the launch market has develop into.
đź“… February 2026 Area Launch Calendar
I’ve compiled the schedule under so you may monitor the insanity. Please bear in mind, spaceflight is hard—dates and occasions typically slip because of climate or technical gremlins. All occasions are listed in GMT+3 (Istanbul time).
What I’m Hold My Eye On
Trying on the “TBD” (To Be Decided) listing on the backside, the New Glenn launch catches my eye. Blue Origin has been engaged on this huge rocket for years. In the event that they handle to launch the BlueBird Block 2 this month, will probably be a historic second for Jeff Bezos’s area ambitions.
Additionally, don’t sleep on the Firefly Alpha launch on the 14th. The small satellite tv for pc market is brutal, and Firefly must show consistency.
It will be a loud month. I’ll be updating my Twitter feed as these launches occur, particularly if we get any visuals on that Chinese language area aircraft.
Which mission excites you essentially the most: The thriller of the Chinese language area aircraft, the human drama of Crew-12, or the heavy metallic energy of Vulcan and Ariane?
