Projected: Artemis II crewed lunar flyby, Starship operational payloads, and direct-to-device at mass scale.
2026 figures here are forward-looking PROJECTIONS based on published manifests, agency budgets, and analyst consensus (McKinsey, Novaspace, Bryce Tech). The headline events expected are Artemis II's crewed circumlunar flight (NET April 2026), Starship's first operational payload deployments, China's accelerating Tiangong expansion and Guowang/Qianfan deployment, and the maturation of direct-to-cell satellite broadband as a mass-consumer service. The global space economy is forecast to cross $630 billion.
Published April 27, 2026 by SpaceOdysseyHub Editorial.
In 2026, the world conducted 290 successful orbital launches. SpaceX led the manifest with 170 launches, representing roughly 59% of the global cadence.
| Mission | Date | Agency / operator | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artemis II — crewed lunar flyby (projected) | 2026-04 (NET) | NASA / CSA | Projected — first crewed flight beyond LEO since 1972; Wiseman, Glover, Koch, Hansen |
| Starship operational Starlink V3 deployment | 2026 (projected) | SpaceX | Projected — first paid payload missions, Starlink V3 megasats |
| New Glenn cadence ramp | 2026 (projected) | Blue Origin / Amazon | Projected — 6–10 missions including Project Kuiper batches and Blue Moon lander cargo |
| Vulcan Centaur national-security cadence | 2026 (projected) | ULA | Projected — 12+ NSSL Phase 2 / civil missions |
| Chang'e 7 lunar south pole mission | 2026 (projected) | CNSA | Projected — water-ice prospecting precursor to ILRS |
| Mars Sample Return architecture decision | 2026 H1 (projected) | NASA / ESA | Projected — NASA reformulated MSR architecture downselect |
| ESA Vega-C / Ariane 6 cadence stabilization | 2026 (projected) | ESA / Arianespace | Projected — ~10 European launches, Galileo G2 deployment continues |
| Axiom Station first segment launch | 2026 H2 (projected) | Axiom Space / NASA | Projected — Hab One module to ISS, first commercial station element |
| Rank | Country | Civil + military space budget |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | United States | $84.0B |
| #2 | China | $23.0B |
| #3 | Japan | $6.5B |
| #4 | France | $4.8B |
| #5 | India | $2.4B |
| Company | Ticker | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Firefly Aerospace (anticipated) | — | 2026 (anticipated) |
| Stoke Space (anticipated) | — | 2026 (anticipated) |
If Artemis II flies cleanly and Starship reaches reliable orbital reuse, 2026 will be remembered as the year the post-Apollo era of crewed deep-space flight resumed. Defense and broadband megaconstellations will dominate launch demand, while commercial LEO destinations and lunar economy services move from PowerPoint to procurement.