Falcon 9 WorldView Legion 1 & 21713983400 (24-Apr-2024 18:30)
[ April 24 / Window opens 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT / 1830 GMT)]
[map] SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
[*] [vidz] A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the first pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The first stage of the Falcon 9 will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base for landing. Delayed from April, June 2023 an April 17, 2024. Updated: April 19 [#]
Atlas 5 CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test1714971600 (06-May-2024 05:00)
[ NET May 6/7 / 10:34 p.m. ET (0234 UTC on the 7th)]
[map] SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
[*] [vidz] A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-085, will launch Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on its first mission with astronauts, known as the Crew Test Flight, to the International Space Station. The capsule will dock with the space station, then return to Earth to landing in the Western United States. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly on the mission. The rocket will fly in a vehicle configuration with two solid rocket boosters and a dual-engine Centaur upper stage. Delayed from August and 1st Quarter of 2020. Delayed from mid-2020 after Boeing decision to refly the Orbital Flight Test. Delayed from early 2021, June 2021, and late 2021. Delayed from late 2022 to implement fixes on the Starliner spacecraft after OFT-2. Delayed from April 2023, July 2023 and April 2024. Updated: April 06 [#]
Long March 2C SVOM
1719205200 (24-Jun-2024 05:00)
[ June 24 / TBD]
[map] Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
A Chinese Long March 2C rocket will launch the Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) spacecraft. The satellite is a dual Franco-Chinese mission, which is “dedicated to the study of the most distant explosions of stars, the gamma-ray bursts.” There are four main instruments on board, two of which are French and two which are Chinese. The spacecraft will be launched to a 625-km Earth orbit and will operate for at least three years with an option to extend for another two years beyond that. Delayed from late 2023. Updated: January 28
Falcon Heavy GOES U1719291600 (25-Jun-2024 05:00)
[ June 25 / TBD]
[map] LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
[*] [vidz] A SpaceX Falcon Heavy will launch the fourth and final satellite of the next-generation series of geostationary weather satellites for NASA and NOAA. GOES-U will orbit 22,300 miles above the equator to monitor weather conditions across the United States. The satellite will be renamed GOES-19 once it reaches its operational orbit. Delayed from April 30 and May. Updated: March 26 [#]
Falcon 9 Trksat 6A1720414800 (08-Jul-2024 05:00)
[ NET July 8 / TBD]
[map] SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
[*] [vidz] A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Trksat 6A communications satellite for the Turkish operator Trksat. Trksat 6A is the first geostationary communications satellite to be built in Turkey, with development led by TBTAK Space Technologies Research Institute and Turkish Aerospace Industries. Delayed from 2nd Quarter 2023 and March 2024. Updated: March 25 [#]
Vulcan Centaur Dream Chaser 11735621200 (31-Dec-2024 05:00)
[ Second Quarter / TBD]
[map] SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
[*] [vidz] A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its second demonstration flight with Sierra Spaces Dream Chaser cargo vehicle for the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser is a lifting body resupply spacecraft that will launch on top of a rocket and land on a runway. This will be the Dream Chasers first flight to space. The Vulcan Centaur rocket will fly in the VC4L configuration with four GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters, a long-length payload fairing, and two RL10 engines on the Centaur upper stage. Delayed from August 2022, December 2023, January 2024 and April 2024. Updated: March 26 [#]