What's Happening in Space: July 2026

A summary of space events through the month

Once again, our fab Space Expert, Dhara Patel, shares her insider guide to star gazing opportunities and the latest space happenings in July!

Throughout July - Spot the International Space Station

From Leicester, there may be sightings throughout July to spot the International Space Station (ISS) moving across the sky. Download NASA’s Spot the Station app using the App Store or Google Play to find out when and where to spot the largest artificial satellite overhead from your location. It’ll look like a bright star moving relatively quickly across the sky (generally from west to east) and will be visible to the naked eye. While there are daily sightings from Leicester between 1st – 9th July at least, many of them occur in the early hours of the morning. So, if you’re looking for a more reasonable time to do some ISS-hunting, look to the southwest on 6 or 8 July at around 23:30 and you’ll hopefully be able to spot the ISS arcing across the sky making its way to the east over the course of 6-7 minutes.

Throughout July – Stargazing challenges

Each month, we'll be sharing some stargazing challenges for everyone to have a go at. From spotting the Moon and familiar star patterns, to catching meteor showers and eclipses. Check out our Stargazing Challenges – July 2026 blog for more details.

1st July – Swift Rescue Mission 

After launching in 2004, the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has slowly been decaying (with no thrusters to propel itself back) – something that happens due to atmospheric drag. It’s the only observatory of its kind to study explosive events across the Universe. The X-ray telescope components were built here in Leicester, and the University hosts the UK Swift Science Data Centre which provides access to a wide range of scientific data to the whole international science community. At its current rate, the observatory will fall too close to Earth in later 2026 bringing the mission to an end. To prevent this and extend the mission lifetime by a number of years, a first of its kind mission to push it back into a higher orbit has been given the go ahead and it is set to launch no earlier than 10:43 on 1 July (delayed from the end of June due to unfavourable weather conditions). Swift has no inbuilt docking structure, so the private company (Katalyst) selected for the job has done some extraordinary ‘detective work’ to plan the best way to capture and drag the telescope to a higher orbit. The LINK robotic servicer developed for the task in hand by Katalyst Space Technologies is set to launch on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket and will be carried aloft by the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft from the Marshall Islands to approximately 40,000 feet over open ocean. From there it will be released and after free-falling for five seconds it will ignite its first stage rocket motor and deliver the servicer into orbit in a little over 10 minutes. It will mark the first time a commercial robotic spacecraft captures and services an uncrewed government satellite that was never designed for docking.

11^th July – Moon and Mars close in the sky

The waning crescent moon will be observable near Mars in the east during the early morning of 11 July – visible to the naked eye before sunrise. The Moon will be in conjunction (sharing the same right ascension – coordinate) with Mars and they’ll be at their closest approach later that afternoon but in the daylight, they won’t be observable together. So, the best time to try and spot the duo is around 03:00 on the morning of 11 July when Mars will sit under the Moon in the predawn sky. The pair will be close to the horizon so try to find clear, unobstructed views of the eastern horizon to make them easier to spot. Mars will rise around 02:00, so you’ll need to find the sweet spot of it being early and dark enough to spot their light vs. it being closer to the time of sunrise when they’re a little higher above the horizon and easier to spot. Check out the astronomical phenomena blog linked above to find out more about close approaches and conjunctions and other astronomical phenomena.

14^th July – New Moon (10:43)

The new moon will occur in the constellation of Gemini. The lack of moonlight interference provides a great time to try and view deep sky objects (especially with the aid of binoculars and telescopes). We have a blog on Moon phases written by Mike Darch in our Education team.

17^th July - Moon and Venus close in the sky 

The Moon will be in conjunction (sharing the same right ascension – coordinate) with Venus around 17:30 on 17 July and they’ll be at their closest approach shortly before, but you’ll need to wait until a little later when the sun sets and the sky begins to darken to spot the star-like point of Venus nestled beside the waxing crescent moon in the western sky. The duo, visible to the naked eye, will be very low on the horizon, so you’ll need good clear views to spot them. Don’t leave it too late though as the pair will set below the horizon, disappearing from view around 22:00. Check out the astronomical phenomena blog linked above to find out more about close approaches and conjunctions and other astronomical phenomena.

30th July – Peak of the Delta Aquariid Meteor ShowerMoon and Mercury, Venus and Jupiter close in the sky 

The Delta Aquariids is an average shower, ~ 15-20 meteors per hour at its peak, produced by dust left behind by comet 96P/Machholz. The peak isn’t clearly defined but 30 July is likely the best time to observe and catch this meteor shower at its maximum rate. Whilst the peak will likely occur earlier on 30 July (with meteors most visible for a week around this date), you’ll have to wait for the skies to darken, so it’s best viewed after midnight. The waning gibbous moon will be up throughout the night making for less-than-ideal viewing conditions but it’s still worth viewing from as dark a location as possible. To spot the meteors find an open area with clear views of the horizon and face in a southeasterly direction looking towards the constellation of Aquarius where the radiant lies. However be sure to scan the entire starry canvas above using your eyes, as meteors can appear anywhere overhead. Check out the Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower blog to find out more.

No earlier than July - Isar Spectrum Flight Two

In 2025, a first attempt was made by Isar Aerospace, from Andøya Spaceport in Norway to launch an orbital-class rocket from European soil. In this test flight the rocket crashed roughly 20–30 seconds after launch and did not reach orbit. Both Spectrum Flight Two (again by Isar Aerospace, launching from Andøya Spaceport in Norway) and Rocket Factory Augsburg's (RFA) rocket set to launch from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland on the RFA ONE demo flight, are on the verge of becoming the first successful orbital flight from European soil. Delayed multiple times from earlier this year (postponed due to a defective valve and then due to a boat entering the exclusion zone around the launch site during the launch window, amongst other more recent setbacks), Spectrum Flight Two now has a scheduled launch date of no earlier than this month and is expected to carry 5 CubeSats and 1 non-separable experiment into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit.