Science & Math — entry 011 of 28
Launch Library 2
The Space Devs' Launch Library 2 is a community-maintained database of orbital and notable suborbital launches, space events, astronauts, space stations, and docking events, built as the official successor to the original Launch Library API. Every endpoint is keyless, free up to 15 requests/hour, with higher throughput available to Patreon supporters, and supports filtering by launch provider, vehicle, or spacecraft plus an ICS calendar feed.
The Space Devs' Launch Library 2 is a keyless REST API over a database of orbital launches, agencies, and spacecraft. The API version is pinned directly in the URL path (`/2.2.0/...`), and every list endpoint returns the same Django REST Framework-style `{count, next, previous, results}` envelope.
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<a href="https://greatapis.com/api/launch-library-2/"><img src="https://greatapis.com/badge/launch-library-2.svg" alt="Scored 85 on greatapis.com"></a>Auth quickstart
- No account or key is required for read access — every request below is a public, unauthenticated GET, reconfirmed live this run.
- The free tier is capped at 15 requests/hour per caller, measured live this run via the API's own `/2.2.0/api-throttle/` endpoint, which echoes your current quota back: a probe returned `{"your_request_limit":15,"limit_frequency_secs":3600,"current_use":3,"next_use_secs":0,"ident":"<your IP>"}` — matching the 15/hour figure this entry's summary already claimed, now confirmed rather than inherited. Check that endpoint before a burst of calls rather than guessing at budget.
Your key is stored only in this browser (localStorage) and sent directly to the API — never to greatapis.
List the next upcoming launch (list mode)
GEThttps://ll.thespacedevs.com/2.2.0/launch/upcoming/?limit=1&mode=list
{"count":359,"next":"https://ll.thespacedevs.com/2.2.0/launch/upcoming/?limit=1&mode=list&offset=1","previous":null,"results":[{"id":"e7e55b53-6f69-4c22-9fc5-df00df653a3f","url":"https://ll.thespacedevs.com/2.2.0/launch/e7e55b53-6f69-4c22-9fc5-df00df653a3f/","slug":"falcon-9-block-5-starlink-group-17-52","name":"Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-52","status":{"id":1,"name":"Go for Launch","abbrev":"Go","description":"Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources."},"last_updated":"2026-07-25T20:04:21Z","net":"2026-07-29T02:00:00Z","net_precision":{"id":1,"name":"Minute","abbrev":"MIN","description":"The T-0 is accurate to the minute."},"window_end":"2026-07-29T06:00:00Z","window_start":"2026-07-29T02:00:00Z","lsp_name":"SpaceX","mission":"Starlink Group 17-52","mission_type":"Communications","pad":"Space Launch Complex 4E","location":"Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA","landing":null,"landing_success":null,"launcher":null,"orbit":null,"image":"https://thespacedevs-prod.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/media/images/falcon2520925_image_20221009234147.png","infographic":null,"type":"list"}]}Captured byte-for-byte from this run's live probe, no truncation. The returned launch (a Falcon 9 Starlink mission) is whichever entry was soonest-upcoming at probe time, not a curated pick.
Developer reference
https://ll.thespacedevs.com/2.2.015 requests/hour on the free tier, confirmed live via the API's own /api-throttle/ endpoint (your_request_limit: 15, limit_frequency_secs: 3600); higher throughput available to Patreon supporters
Gotchas & limits
- The default response mode (omit `mode` entirely) nests full agency, rocket, pad, location, and program objects several levels deep — a live probe of the identical query with no `mode` param returned a body over 6KB for a single result. Adding `mode=list` (shown above) trims each result to flat, top-level fields only, confirmed live this run to shrink the same single-result response to about 1.1KB — use it for anything that doesn't need the nested detail.
- The API version is a literal path segment, not content negotiation — confirmed live this run: `/2.3.0/launch/upcoming/` returns a bare HTTP 404, while `/2.2.0/launch/upcoming/` on the same query returns 200, so 2.2.0 is still the current live version despite being an older-looking number.
- Rate-limit status isn't exposed via response headers on normal endpoints (no `X-RateLimit-*` on `/launch/upcoming/` in this run's probes) — the only way to check remaining quota live is the separate `/api-throttle/` endpoint described in authSteps.
- CORS is open: a live probe with `Origin: https://example.com` against `/launch/upcoming/` returned `access-control-allow-origin: *`, so it's safe to call directly from browser JS.