Space journey spearheaded by Shepard marks burst of launches this week
The space industry is gearing up for an action-packed week, with multiple launches scheduled for SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab. Here's a rundown of the upcoming missions.
First off, SpaceX is targeting Tuesday for the launch of NASA's IMAP solar observatory mission from Kennedy Space Center. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, a SpaceX Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the Starlink Group 17-12 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, September 17. The week ahead is expected to close out with two more SpaceX Starlink missions on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Sunday, September 21, SpaceX has a doubleheader planned. The Starlink Group 10-27 batch launch is scheduled from Cape Canaveral at 5:20 a.m. EDT, followed by the NROL-48 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office launch from Vandenberg at 1:37 p.m. EDT.
Blue Origin is not to be outdone, with the NS-35 New Shepard mission scheduled for Thursday. This mission is dedicated to science and research, carrying over 40 payloads, including 24 student-led experiments from NASA's TechRise Student Challenge. The experiments range from space farming to medicine in microgravity. Universities and research institutions will also contribute to the mission, focusing on in-space refueling, power generation, and biological imaging.
In China, the CASC Long March 2C/YZ-1S rocket launch is planned for September 15, 2025, at 9:05 p.m. Eastern Time (which corresponds to 01:05 GMT on September 16) from Launch Area-4 (LA-4) at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The mission will carry an unknown payload.
Rocket Lab is scheduled for a suborbital launch of its Electron rocket from Virginia, carrying the JENNA payload, on Monday of next week.
Last week saw eight launches around the globe, including the Geely Constellation Group 05 and Yaogan 45 launches by China Aerospace and Technology Corporation (CASC), the Tranche 1 Transport Layer B mission by SpaceX, the Progress MS-32 cargo ship launch to the ISS, and the Nusantara Lima communications satellite deployment by SpaceX, among others.
Stay tuned for more updates as these missions progress!
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