Upcoming Spaceflight Launches
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Falcon 9 Block 5 | Skynet 6A
SpaceX | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
TBD December, 2027
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
The Skynet 6A gap-filler military communications satellite built by Airbus Defence and Space to cover the gap between the Britisch Skynet-5 network and its successor. Skynet 6A was solesourced from Airbus Defence and Space in 2017, but was not fully funded until July 2020. Aibus will build the Skynet-6A satellite in the United Kingdom and arrange a 2025 launch. RAL Space, a U.K. national laboratory, will test the all-electric satellite at its facility in Harwell. Skynet-6A, based on the Eurostar-Neo platform, is expected to provide communications services for the British military until at least 2040.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitFalcon 9 Block 5 | JSAT-32
SpaceX | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
TBD December, 2027
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
JSAT-32 is a geostationary communication satellite for SKY Perfect JSAT. Operating in the Ku and Ka frequency bands, JSAT-32 will provide coverage over Japan and its surrounding seas, with newly added spot beams for mobility applications. JSAT-32 will serve as a future replacement for existing SKY Perfect JSAT satellites that provide communication and distribution services in Japan.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitFalcon 9 Block 5 | WSF-M2 & BLAZE-2 (USSF-178)
SpaceX | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2027
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
Second Weather System Follow-on (WSF) satellite. WSF-M (Weather System Follow-on - Microwave) is the next-generation operational environmental satellite system for the Department of Defense (DoD), to replace the microwave wavelength weather forecasting capabilities of the DMSP satellites. Ball Aerospace has been selected in late November 2017 to be the prime contractor for 2 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) weather satellites with a passive microwave imaging radiometer instrument and hosted Government furnished energetic charged particle (ECP) sensor space weather payload developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The radiometer leverages the Ball-built Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument. This mission will improve weather forecasting over maritime regions by taking global measurements of the atmosphere and ocean surface. The launch will also include BLAZE-2, a launch opportunity for operational, research, development, and prototype small satellites from across the DoD.
Polar Orbit
H3 | MBR Explorer
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | JapanTanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD March, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
An United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) planetary mission to visit main belt asteroids. Named after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the spacecraft will fly by six main belt asteroids between 2030 and 2033 before rendezvousing on a seventh, Justitia, in 2034, later deploying a lander.
AsteroidH3 | DESTINY+ & RAMSES
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | JapanTanegashima Space Center, Japan
TBD April, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned asteroid exploration mission to 3200 Phaethon, the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower. It will demonstrate further improvements of low cost solar electric propulsion in deep space and innovative light-weight solar array panel technology. The spacecraft will carry 3 science instruments: * DESTINY Dust Analyzer (DDA) * Telescopic Camera for Phaethon (TCAP) * Multiband Camera for Phaethon (MCAP) RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) is a European-Japanese planetary defense mission to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The spacecraft will arrive around Apophis in February 2029, before the asteroid’s very close fly-by to Earth on 13 April 2029. It will conduct measurements of the asteroid's properties before and during the Earth flyby to study its response to the close encounter with the planet. The spacecraft will leverage much of the technology developed for the Hera mission. At the asteroid, RAMSES will deploy two smaller CubeSats, one carrying a dust analyser, a low-frequency radar, the other will attempt to land on Apophis and provide high-resolution images from the surface.
AsteroidFalcon 9 Block 5 | NEO Surveyor
SpaceX | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
TBD June, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is designed to help advance planetary defense efforts to discover and characterize most of the potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. These are collectively known as near-earth objects, or NEOs. NEO Surveyor consists of a single scientific instrument: a 50 centimeter (nearly 20 inch) diameter telescope that operates in two heat-sensing infrared wavelengths. It will be capable of detecting both bright and dark asteroids, which are the most difficult type to find.
Heliocentric L1
Falcon Heavy | Dragonfly
SpaceX | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
TBD July, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
Dragonfly is NASA's 4th New Frontiers program mission that will send a robotic rotorcraft to fly within the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan to sample materials and determine surface composition in different geologic settings, advancing humanity's search for the building blocks of life. The craft is a large quadcopter with double rotors with mass of about 875 kg, featuring rotors of 1.35 m in diameter. It can fly through several kilometers within an hour and will perform 1 flight per Titan day (~16 Earth days). During the planned 3.3-year mission, Dragonfly is expected to cover distance up to several hundred km. Dragonfly will use a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) to power its instruments. The planned science instrument suite is: * DragonCam: Camera Suite * DrACO: Drill for Acquisition of Complex Organics * DraMS: Mass Spectrometer * DraGNS: Gamma-ray and Neutron Spectrometer * DraGMet: Geophysics and Meteorology
Heliocentric N/A
Ariane 64 | Comet Interceptor
ArianeGroup | FranceGuiana Space Centre, French Guiana
TBD August, 2028
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
ESA's Comet Interceptor consists of three spacecraft which will be positioned at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, where they will wait for a long-period comet or an interstellar object to come by. Once the desired target appears, the spacecraft will separate and perform a flyby of the target, compiling a detailed 3D profile of a comet.
Heliocentric N/A
Atlas V N22 | Starliner-6
United Launch Alliance | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
TBD September, 2028
SLS Block 1B | Artemis IV
National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of AmericaKennedy Space Center, FL, USA
TBD September, 2028
Falcon 9
NROL-105
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USATwelfth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office …
Ceres-2
Demo Flight
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaFirst test launch of Galactic Energy’s Ceres-2 rocket.
Long March 3B/E
Shijian 32
Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaChinese experimental spacecraft of unknown purposes.
Ceres-1S
Tianqi 37-40
Rizhao offshore launch location - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport4 small satellites for LEO Internet of Things (IoT) communication purposes.
Long March 2C
AlSat 3A
Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaEarth observation satellite built by China's CAST for the Algerian Space Agency.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-98
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Long March 8A
SatNet LEO Group 18
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of ChinaA batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
Long March 6A
Yaogan 50-01
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of ChinaThe Yaogan 50-01 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-97
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
PSLV-DL
EOS-N1 and others
Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, IndiaSmall Earth observation satellite from NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for an "Indian strategic user", details TBD. This launch will also carry 18 o…
