juliensimon/space-launch-log

---
license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: "Global Space Launch Log"
language:
- en
description: "Every orbital launch attempt since 1957 from Jonathan McDowell's GCAT, with vehicles, sites, and outcomes. Updated weekly."
task_categories:
- tabular-classification
- time-series-forecasting
tags:
- space
- launches
- rockets
- gcat
- orbital-mechanics
- open-data
- spaceflight
- nasa
- launch-vehicle
configs:
- config_name: launches
data_files:
- split: train
path: data/launches.parquet
- config_name: sites
data_files:
- split: train
path: data/sites.parquet
size_categories:
- 10K<n<100K
---

# Space Launch Log


Complete global launch history from [GCAT](https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/)
(General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects), maintained by Jonathan McDowell.
Currently **75,729** launches (7,021 orbital, 49,514 suborbital)
from **710** sites, spanning 1942–2026.

## Configs

### `launches` — 75,729 launch records

Every known launch attempt — orbital, suborbital, and failed — from 1942 to present.

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `launch_tag` | string | Unique GCAT launch identifier |
| `launch_jd` | float | Launch time as Julian Date |
| `launch_date` | string | Launch date (ISO-ish format) |
| `lv_type` | string | Launch vehicle type (e.g. "Falcon 9") |
| `variant` | string | Vehicle variant |
| `flight_id` | string | Flight identifier |
| `flight` | string | Flight number |
| `mission` | string | Mission name |
| `flight_code` | string | Flight code |
| `platform` | string | Launch platform |
| `launch_site` | string | Launch site code |
| `launch_pad` | string | Launch pad identifier |
| `ascent_site` | string | Ascent site (if different from launch) |
| `ascent_pad` | string | Ascent pad |
| `apogee` | float | Apogee altitude in km |
| `apogee_flag` | string | Apogee qualifier flag |
| `range` | float | Range in km |
| `range_flag` | string | Range qualifier flag |
| `destination` | string | Target orbit/destination |
| `orbital_payload` | string | Whether payload reached orbit |
| `agency` | string | Responsible agency/operator |
| `launch_code` | string | Launch outcome code |
| `fail_code` | string | Failure details (if applicable) |
| `group` | string | Launch group |
| `category` | string | `O` (orbital), `S` (suborbital), etc. |
| `lt_cite` | string | Launch time citation |
| `cite` | string | General citation |
| `notes` | string | Additional notes |

### `sites` — 710 launch sites

Launch facilities, pads, and test ranges worldwide.

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `site` | string | Site identifier |
| `code` | string | Short code |
| `ucode` | string | Unicode code |
| `type` | string | Site type |
| `state_code` | string | Country/state code |
| `start` | string | First operational date |
| `stop` | string | Last operational date |
| `short_name` | string | Short name |
| `name` | string | Full name |
| `location` | string | Geographic location description |
| `longitude` | float | Longitude (WGS-84) |
| `latitude` | float | Latitude (WGS-84) |
| `error` | string | Position error estimate |
| `parent` | string | Parent site (for pads within complexes) |
| `short_ename` | string | Short English name |
| `ename` | string | Full English name |
| `group` | string | Site group |
| `uname` | string | Unicode name |

## Quick stats

- **75,729** launches (7,021 orbital, 49,514 suborbital)
- **705** distinct agencies/operators
- **710** launch sites
- Coverage: **1942–2026**

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

launches = load_dataset("juliensimon/space-launch-log", "launches", split="train")
sites = load_dataset("juliensimon/space-launch-log", "sites", split="train")

df = launches.to_pandas()

# Launches per year
df["year"] = df["launch_date"].str[:4]
print(df["year"].value_counts().sort_index().tail(10))

# Most-used launch vehicles
print(df["lv_type"].value_counts().head(10))

# Orbital launches only (launch_code starts with O)
orbital = df[df["launch_code"].str[0] == "O"]

# Join with site coordinates
sites_df = sites.to_pandas()
df_geo = df.merge(sites_df[["code", "latitude", "longitude"]],
left_on="launch_site", right_on="code", how="left")
```

## Data source

[GCAT](https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/) (General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects)
by Jonathan McDowell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. GCAT is the most
comprehensive public catalog of space launches and is widely used in the spaceflight
research community.

## Update schedule

Weekly on Mondays at 07:00 UTC via [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets).

## Related datasets

- [starlink-fleet-data](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/starlink-fleet-data) — Daily Starlink constellation health snapshots
- [space-track-satcat](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/space-track-satcat) — NORAD satellite catalog
- [starlink-ground-stations](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/starlink-ground-stations) — Starlink gateway and PoP locations

## Pipeline

Source code: [juliensimon/space-datasets](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets)

## Citation

```bibtex
@dataset{space_launch_log,
author = {Simon, Julien},
title = {Space Launch Log},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Hugging Face},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/space-launch-log},
note = {Based on GCAT (General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects) by Jonathan McDowell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics}
}
```

## License

[CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)