SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets are scheduled to launch two Starlink missions from US coasts, each carrying batches of V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit.
The West Coast mission will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base with a 25-satellite batch. The first stage booster, tail number B1097, will attempt a seventh recovery on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
The East Coast mission will depart Cape Canaveral with 29 V2 Mini Optimized satellites aboard. Its first stage, tail number 1080, will attempt a 25th flight and target a landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
Other Launches And Fleet Movements Across The Global Schedule
Firefly Aerospace plans a return to flight for its Alpha rocket from Vandenberg, carrying a test demo payload and new systems destined for the Block 2 configuration on a later flight. The mission follows an anomaly on Alpha Flight 6 and has faced multiple weather-related delays.
Space One will launch the four-stage KAIROS with five customer satellites, marking a third attempt after two failed flights in 2024. Manifested payloads include TerraSpace’s TATARA-1, Space Cube LLC’s SC-Sat1a, Hio Gakuen High School’s HErO, ArkEdge Space’s AETS-1 and NutSat-3 from the Taiwan Space Center and National Taiwan University.
Isar Aerospace will fly a second Spectrum test mission from Andøya Spaceport carrying five CubeSats and an experiment from Dcubed, with Exolaunch handling payload integration and deployment. That flight was delayed earlier by a pressurization valve issue.
Blue Origin plans a New Glenn launch carrying AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite, the second vehicle for its space-based cellular constellation. Blue Origin has not said whether it will attempt a booster recovery for that mission.
NASA’s Space Launch System will carry an Orion crewed spacecraft on the Artemis 2 lunar flyby, with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen aboard and the capsule Integrity slated to splash down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission experienced delays tied to issues with the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
United Launch Alliance will use an Atlas 5 for a Boeing Starliner uncrewed cargo flight to the International Space Station, a shift from an earlier plan for a post-certification crewed mission following the 2024 Crewed Flight Test. ULA will also fly a Vulcan Centaur carrying Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser in a VC4L configuration on its second demonstration flight, marking the Dream Chaser’s first trip to space.
Looking further ahead, a Falcon Heavy will carry NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft to Titan, after program reviews and design milestones. The mission carries a multibillion dollar lifecycle cost and includes a contract payment to SpaceX for launch services and related costs.
