Skynet 6-17-23 “Goodbye Ariane 5” & Constellations “Bootes” and “Corona Borealis” 9PM CT |

Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, designated VA260, to launch the Syracuse 4B and Heinrich Hertz communications satellites. Syracuse 4B, built by Airbus, will relay secure communications between French military aircraft, ground vehicles, and naval vessels, including submarines. The Heinrich Hertz satellite, built by OHB, will test new communications technologies on a mission funded by the German government. This will be the final launch of an Ariane 5 rocket. Delayed from February due to problems completing the Heinrich Hertz satellite. Moved forward from June 21. Delayed from June 16.

Updated: June 15

June 18 Falcon 9 • Satria

Launch time: 2204 UTC (6:04 p.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Satria communications satellite for the Indonesian government and the Indonesian satellite operator PSN. The Satria satellite will provide broadband internet and communications capacity for schools, hospitals, and other public use facilities in Indonesia’s rural regions. The satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space, and is based on the Spacebus Neo platform. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Updated: June 13

June 21 Delta 4-Heavy • NROL-68

Launch time: 0700-1145 UTC (3:00-7:45 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket. This is the penultimate flight of a Delta 4 rocket. Delayed from March and April 20.

Updated: June 13

June Falcon 9 • Starlink 5-12

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of Starlink V1.5 internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Updated: June 13

June Falcon 9 • SDA Tranche 0B

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 18 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency. The launch is the second of two Falcon 9 missions to carry SDA demonstration spacecraft for a future constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg.

Updated: June 08

July 1 Falcon 9 • Euclid

Launch time: 1512 GMT (11:12 a.m. EDT)

Launch site: Cape Canaveral, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Euclid mission for the European Space Agency. Euclid is an astrophysics mission with a telescope and two scientific instruments designed to explore the evolution of the dark universe. It will make a 3D-map of the universe by observing billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than a third of the sky. Euclid will be launched to an observing orbit at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point. The mission was originally supposed to launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Updated: June 08

July 7 Falcon Heavy • USSF 52

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch the USSF 52 mission for the U.S. Space Force. The Falcon Heavy will launch an unspecified military payload on this mission. Delayed from October 2021 and 2nd Quarter 2022. Delayed from October 2022 and June 23.

Updated: May 05

July Falcon 9 • Galaxy 37

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Galaxy 37 C-band television broadcasting satellite for Intelsat. The spacecraft was built by Maxar. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from 2nd Quarter.

Updated: April 01

TBD Vulcan Centaur • Peregrine

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its inaugural flight with the Peregrine commercial lunar lander for Astrobotic. The Peregrine robotic lander will carry multiple experiments, scientific instruments, and tech demo payloads for NASA and other customers. The mission will also launch two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper broadband constellation. The Vulcan Centaur rocket will fly in the VC2S configuration with two GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters, a short-length payload fairing, and two RL10 engines on the Centaur upper stage. Delayed from mid-2022 and late 2022. Delayed from 1st Quarter 2023 and May 4.

Updated: June 08

TBD Falcon 9 • O3b mPOWER 5 & 6

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the third pair of O3b mPOWER broadband internet satellites into Medium Earth Orbit for SES of Luxembourg. The satellites, built by Boeing, will provide internet services over most of the populated world, building on SES’s O3b network. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from March and June 9.

Updated: June 13

TBD Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 1 & 2

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

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 and June.