A Dragon spacecraft approaching the International Space Station above Earth

The Data Behind Space Launch Now

The Space Devs

The volunteer developers and librarians who keep the world's spaceflight data free and open. Every launch on this site comes from them.

Support on Patreon Join the Discord

The Mission

"A common goal to improve public knowledge and accessibility of spaceflight information."

Launch Library began in the early 2010s as a small volunteer project, paid for out of one person's pocket. In 2020 its original owners handed it on, and a group of developers relaunched it as Launch Library 2 under a new organization: The Space Devs.

Today they run two public APIs, and anyone can use them for free: an app developer, a teacher, a newsroom or a space agency. The librarians are volunteers, from Ukraine to Australia.

Librarians keep the data current around the clock, from a launch date slipping by an hour to a booster landing at T+7:21. That is the data you see on every page of Space Launch Now.

Public APIs

free to use

Team

staff developers and librarians

Partners

partner projects

Using the data

102

listed apps, bots and sites

A note on independence. Caleb Jones, who makes Space Launch Now, co-founded The Space Devs, sits on its board and works on Launch Library 2 as a developer and librarian.

How a Launch Gets Into the Database

Most of it is careful research by people. Within minutes of a new detail appearing, a librarian has usually updated the launch.

Months out
A rough window
A contract announcement or press release gives a quarter or a month, such as "Q2 next year".
Weeks out
Clues narrow it
Photos of a booster being stacked, or a payload maker announcing a delivery, point to a likelier date.
Days to weeks out
A target date
The provider announces it, or it leaks through industry sources. Classified launches can stay vague until the end.
Final days
Flight restrictions
Automated alerts for Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) and NOTAMs confirm the window and the hazard areas.

The hardest to track

Launches From China

Sometimes the only sign is a flight restriction over a remote mountain range a day before liftoff, or a post on a Chinese forum that a librarian finds and translates. Then the team works backwards:

Which rocket was it?
What orbit did it reach?
What was it carrying?
Did it succeed?

Two APIs, Free for Everyone

Rocket launches, space events and crewed spaceflight

Launch Library 2

Every orbital launch, plus suborbital flights that aim for space and are streamed live. The successor to the original Launch Library, it also brought in everything the Space Launch Now API offered.

Launches
Events
Agencies
Astronauts
Space stations
Expeditions
Dockings
Launch vehicles
Reusable first stages
Spacecraft

Free for up to 15 requests an hour without a key. Patreon supporters get higher limits.

Documentation

Spaceflight news, blogs and reports

Spaceflight News API

Started in 2018 by Derk Weijers, who wanted one place to read spaceflight news. Articles link to the Launch Library 2 launches and events they mention, so news and launches can sit side by side.

Articles
Blogs
Reports
Links to LL2 launches and events

Documentation

What Powers This Site

Each section of Space Launch Now and the API it reads from.

On Space Launch Now	From	Endpoints
Launch pages, countdowns, webcasts, updates	Launch Library 2	launches
Dockings, spacewalks, landings and press events	Launch Library 2	events
Astronauts and who is in space now	Launch Library 2	astronauts expeditions
Rockets, boosters, spacecraft and stations	Launch Library 2	launcher_configurations launchers spacecraft space_stations
The Starship program, vehicles and timeline	Launch Library 2	programs dashboard
News on the home page and in the app	Spaceflight News API	articles

The People

Caleb JonesCo-founder · Board
LL2 developer and librarian, Space Launch Now founder and developer
Jacques Rascagneres
LL2 developer and librarian, Go4Liftoff founder and developer
Derk Weijers
SNAPI founder and developer, LL2 librarian
Arnaud Muller
LL2 developer and librarian, SNAPI librarian
Lucas Stauder
LL2 developer and librarian
Stephen
LL2 developer and librarian
Nik B
LL2 librarian
Irene Larina
LL2 librarian
Ivan Li
LL2 librarian
Scott McLay
LL2 librarian
Marco Zamblanchi
LL2 librarian
Robin Bouchet
LL2 librarian
Jay Keegan
LL2 librarian

From The Space Devs' staff page.

The Network

Partners help maintain the data or the shared infrastructure. Users build on the APIs.

Space Launch Now
This website and the apps.
Go4Liftoff
A website, Android app and Discord bot built on both APIs.
Spaceflight News API
Spaceflight news, blogs and reports for developers.
Launch Dashboard API
Open-source launch telemetry read from webcasts, streamed in real time.
Flight Club
A rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser.
LiveLaunch
An open-source Discord bot that turns LL2 data into Discord events.
r/SpaceX
The largest fan-run discussion board about SpaceX.

Everyday Astronaut
Flight Club
Home Assistant
Australian Space Agency
University College London
Go4Liftoff
Nextinspace
r/RocketLab
r/SpaceX
Rocket Launch Space Race
The Orbital Mechanics Podcast
T-Minus Charts
Is There A Launch Today?
SpaceX Launch Bot
and 88 more

Support The Space Devs

Keep Spaceflight Data Free

The APIs are free to use. Patreon supporters cover the servers, get higher API limits and a supporter role on Discord.

Become a patron Visit thespacedevs.com

Space Launch Now for iOS and Android

Alerts for every crewed launch, docking, spacewalk and landing.

See what's in the app

Scan to open on your phone

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The Data Behind Space Launch Now

The Space Devs

The volunteer developers and librarians who keep the world's spaceflight data free and open. Every launch on this site comes from them.

Support on Patreon Join the Discord

The Mission

"A common goal to improve public knowledge and accessibility of spaceflight information."

Today they run two public APIs, and anyone can use them for free: an app developer, a teacher, a newsroom or a space agency. The librarians are volunteers, from Ukraine to Australia.

Librarians keep the data current around the clock, from a launch date slipping by an hour to a booster landing at T+7:21. That is the data you see on every page of Space Launch Now.

Public APIs

free to use

Team

staff developers and librarians

Partners

partner projects

Using the data

102

listed apps, bots and sites

A note on independence. Caleb Jones, who makes Space Launch Now, co-founded The Space Devs, sits on its board and works on Launch Library 2 as a developer and librarian.

How a Launch Gets Into the Database

Most of it is careful research by people. Within minutes of a new detail appearing, a librarian has usually updated the launch.

Months out
A rough window
A contract announcement or press release gives a quarter or a month, such as "Q2 next year".
Weeks out
Clues narrow it
Photos of a booster being stacked, or a payload maker announcing a delivery, point to a likelier date.
Days to weeks out
A target date
The provider announces it, or it leaks through industry sources. Classified launches can stay vague until the end.
Final days
Flight restrictions
Automated alerts for Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) and NOTAMs confirm the window and the hazard areas.

The hardest to track

Launches From China

Sometimes the only sign is a flight restriction over a remote mountain range a day before liftoff, or a post on a Chinese forum that a librarian finds and translates. Then the team works backwards:

Which rocket was it?
What orbit did it reach?
What was it carrying?
Did it succeed?

Two APIs, Free for Everyone

Rocket launches, space events and crewed spaceflight

Launch Library 2

Every orbital launch, plus suborbital flights that aim for space and are streamed live. The successor to the original Launch Library, it also brought in everything the Space Launch Now API offered.

Launches
Events
Agencies
Astronauts
Space stations
Expeditions
Dockings
Launch vehicles
Reusable first stages
Spacecraft

Free for up to 15 requests an hour without a key. Patreon supporters get higher limits.

Documentation

Spaceflight news, blogs and reports

Spaceflight News API

Started in 2018 by Derk Weijers, who wanted one place to read spaceflight news. Articles link to the Launch Library 2 launches and events they mention, so news and launches can sit side by side.

Articles
Blogs
Reports
Links to LL2 launches and events

Documentation

What Powers This Site

Each section of Space Launch Now and the API it reads from.

On Space Launch Now	From	Endpoints
Launch pages, countdowns, webcasts, updates	Launch Library 2	launches
Dockings, spacewalks, landings and press events	Launch Library 2	events
Astronauts and who is in space now	Launch Library 2	astronauts expeditions
Rockets, boosters, spacecraft and stations	Launch Library 2	launcher_configurations launchers spacecraft space_stations
The Starship program, vehicles and timeline	Launch Library 2	programs dashboard
News on the home page and in the app	Spaceflight News API	articles

The People

Caleb JonesCo-founder · Board
LL2 developer and librarian, Space Launch Now founder and developer
Jacques Rascagneres
LL2 developer and librarian, Go4Liftoff founder and developer
Derk Weijers
SNAPI founder and developer, LL2 librarian
Arnaud Muller
LL2 developer and librarian, SNAPI librarian
Lucas Stauder
LL2 developer and librarian
Stephen
LL2 developer and librarian
Nik B
LL2 librarian
Irene Larina
LL2 librarian
Ivan Li
LL2 librarian
Scott McLay
LL2 librarian
Marco Zamblanchi
LL2 librarian
Robin Bouchet
LL2 librarian
Jay Keegan
LL2 librarian

From The Space Devs' staff page.

The Network

Partners help maintain the data or the shared infrastructure. Users build on the APIs.

Space Launch Now
This website and the apps.
Go4Liftoff
A website, Android app and Discord bot built on both APIs.
Spaceflight News API
Spaceflight news, blogs and reports for developers.
Launch Dashboard API
Open-source launch telemetry read from webcasts, streamed in real time.
Flight Club
A rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser.
LiveLaunch
An open-source Discord bot that turns LL2 data into Discord events.
r/SpaceX
The largest fan-run discussion board about SpaceX.

Everyday Astronaut
Flight Club
Home Assistant
Australian Space Agency
University College London
Go4Liftoff
Nextinspace
r/RocketLab
r/SpaceX
Rocket Launch Space Race
The Orbital Mechanics Podcast
T-Minus Charts
Is There A Launch Today?
SpaceX Launch Bot
and 88 more

Support The Space Devs

Keep Spaceflight Data Free

The APIs are free to use. Patreon supporters cover the servers, get higher API limits and a supporter role on Discord.

Become a patron Visit thespacedevs.com

Space Launch Now for iOS and Android

Alerts for every crewed launch, docking, spacewalk and landing.

See what's in the app

Scan to open on your phone

The Space Devs

The Mission

How a Launch Gets Into the Database

Launches From China

Two APIs, Free for Everyone

Launch Library 2

Spaceflight News API

What Powers This Site

The People

The Network

Keep Spaceflight Data Free

Never Miss a Crew Launch.

The Space Devs

The Mission

How a Launch Gets Into the Database

Launches From China

Two APIs, Free for Everyone

Launch Library 2

Spaceflight News API

What Powers This Site

The People

The Network

Keep Spaceflight Data Free

Never Miss a Crew Launch.