Space News

Monthly Preview • July 2026

RAG Space News

What's happening, what's coming up, and what to point your scope at.

Looking Back

June 2026 - The Headlines

Artemis III crew announced
NASA named the four astronauts assigned to Artemis III: Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano of ESA, and Mission Specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio. The mission is now planned as a complex Earth-orbit test flight rather than a lunar landing.

SpaceX keeps up the pace
SpaceX continued its rapid Falcon 9 launch schedule through June, carrying Starlink satellites alongside commercial and government payloads, while Starship development work continued at Starbase.

Blue Origin works through New Glenn setback
Blue Origin remained focused on the investigation and recovery work following the New Glenn test explosion at Launch Complex 36 in Florida in late May.

Summer twilight takes over
Closer to home, the short summer nights now dominate UK observing, but there are still plenty of bright celestial targets for observers willing to stay up a little later.

What's Launching

July 2026 - Missions and Spaceflight to Watch

Artemis III moves into its next phase
NASA and its international partners will continue preparations for Artemis III, with Orion, SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander all remaining key pieces of the wider lunar return programme. The crewed Artemis III flight is planned as a stepping stone towards returning astronauts to the lunar surface later in the decade.

SpaceX launch cadence continues
SpaceX is expected to keep up a busy Falcon 9 schedule during July, supporting Starlink deployment as well as commercial and government missions. Attention will also remain on preparations for the next phase of Starship testing.

Blue Origin recovery work
Blue Origin's priority remains the New Glenn recovery effort following the May test explosion. Engineers are continuing the investigation and repair work at Launch Complex 36, with any return-to-flight timing dependent on the outcome of that process.

For Observers

What's in the Sky - July 2026

Although July brings some of the shortest nights of the year, there is still plenty to enjoy once astronomical darkness begins to return later in the month.

Date	Event	Notes
Early July	Mars close to Uranus	Mars is visible before dawn and passes close to Uranus early in the month, making the distant planet easier to locate with binoculars.
All month	Venus after sunset	Venus shines brilliantly in the western sky after sunset. A clear western horizon will help.
All month	Saturn before midnight	Saturn rises before midnight and is becoming an increasingly rewarding telescope target as it approaches autumn opposition.
14 July	New Moon	The best part of the month for deep-sky observing and imaging, especially as darker nights slowly begin to return.
Late July	Milky Way and summer deep sky	Look for M13, M57, M27, the Lagoon Nebula, the Trifid Nebula and the Veil Nebula. A clear southern horizon helps for the lower Sagittarius targets.
29 July	Full Moon - Buck Moon	The July Full Moon will brighten the sky and reduce faint deep-sky visibility around the end of the month. The Buck Moon is July's Full Moon, named after the time when young male deer begin growing their impressive new antlers.
30-31 July	Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids	Moonlight will make this a difficult year for fainter meteors, but the Alpha Capricornids can produce bright fireballs.

Through the Lens

Astrophotography - July Target

The Veil Nebula - NGC 6960 and NGC 6992
One of the finest summer imaging targets, the Veil Nebula is the expanding remains of a supernova that exploded around 10,000 years ago. Located in Cygnus, it is perfectly placed for UK imagers during July and responds particularly well to dual-band or narrowband filters.

A wide-field refractor can beautifully capture the intricate filaments stretching across several degrees of sky. For visual observers, an OIII or UHC filter can make a huge difference under a dark sky.

On the Horizon

Further Ahead

August brings the biggest astronomy event of the year: the 12 August total solar eclipse. From the UK it will be seen as a major partial eclipse, while totality crosses parts of Spain, Greenland, Iceland and the Arctic region.

The Perseid meteor shower also peaks in August, and 2026 should be a particularly good year because the peak falls close to New Moon. It is well worth planning a dark-sky session if the weather cooperates.

Sources

RAG Space News • July 2026 • Generated 27 June 2026