Space Calendar May 2022: Events Occurring in Space
Space Calendar May 2022
These dates are subject to change. Launch dates are taken from Space.com.
May 3: A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch NASA's Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission to the moon from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. The launch window runs through May 15.
May 4-5: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks.
May 16: The full moon of May, known as the Flower Moon, arrives at 12:14 a.m. EDT (0414 GMT).
May 16-17: A total lunar eclipse, also known as a Blood Moon, will be visible from North and South America, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.
May 19: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its second uncrewed mission to the International Space Station, following a partial failure in December 2019. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
May 29: Jupiter and Mars will make a close approach in the dawn sky and will be just over one-half degree apart. While they won't be close enough to glimpse together by telescope, the planets will be visible together with the naked eye or in a pair of binoculars.
May 30: The new moon arrives at 7:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).
Also scheduled to launch in May (from Spaceflight Now):
An Arianespace Vega rocket will launch the LARES 2 satellite for the Italian space agency. It will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit will launch on its first orbital test flight.
Astra will launch the first pair of small CubeSats for NASA's TROPICS mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Astra will launch the second pair of small CubeSats for NASA's TROPICS mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Astra will launch the third pair of small CubeSats for NASA's TROPICS mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A Chinese Long March 7 rocket will launch the Tianzhou resupply ship to the Chinese space station. It will lift off from Wenchang, China.
A firefly Alpha rocket will launch on its second test flight from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Russia will launch an Angara 1.2 rocket carrying an MKA-R radar satellite. This will be the first launch attempt for the Angara 1.2 rocket. Delayed from April.