Skynet 6-8-24 “Boeing Starliner” & Constellations “Bootes” and “Corona Borealis” 9 PM CT |

Gemini 4 was NASA’s 10th manned spaceflight. It included the first spacewalk by an American astronaut. Edward H. White II floated outside the spacecraft for about 20 minutes. White was able to push himself out of the capsule by using a hand-held maneuvering oxygen-jet gun.

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June 4, 1962. Neil Armstrong submitted his application to be an astronaut. He was selected for the second astronaut group three months later.

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Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week

Constellations “Bootes, the Shepherd, and Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown”

Space Launches For This Week

Space Flight Now Launch Schedule

Launch Schedule

NET June Soyuz • Kondor-FKA 2

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Pad 1S, Vostochny Cosmodrome

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch the Kondor-Experimental SAR Spacecraft FKA 2 (Kondor-FKA 2) satellite to sun-synchronous orbit at 510 km altitude and an inclination of 97.4°. The mission, with a roughly five-year live span, is being launched on behalf of NPO Mashinostroyeniya.

Updated: May 17

June 12/13 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-2

Launch time: Window 5:08 – 9:36 p.m. EDT (2108-0136 UTC)

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to low Earth orbit. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster will land on a droneship out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Updated: June 07

NET June 19 Electron • “No Time Toulouse”

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch the “No Time Toulouse” mission, the first of five dedicated flights on behalf of Kinéis, a French Internet-of-Things company, which also has financial backing from France’s space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). The rocket will carry the first five Internet-of-Things (IOT) satellites of a 25-satellite constellation.

Updated: June 08

June 24 Long March 2C • SVOM

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: 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

June 25 Falcon Heavy • GOES U

Launch time: TBD

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

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

Second Quarter Vulcan Centaur • Dream Chaser 1

Launch time: TBD

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

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will launch on its second demonstration flight with Sierra Space’s 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 Chaser’s 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

Summer 2024 Falcon 9 • ASBM

Launch time: TBD

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, consisting of two satellites owned by Space Norway. The Falcon 9 will launch the two Northrop Grumman-built satellites into a highly elliptical orbit that lingers over the Arctic region. The satellites carry communications payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Space Force, and Inmarsat.

Updated: December 13

TBD Eris • TestFlight1

Launch time: TBD

Launch site: Pad 1, Bowen Orbital Spaceport

Gilmour Space in Australia is preparing to launch the inaugural flight of its Eris Block 1 rocket. The three-stage launch vehicle is 25 m (82 ft) tall and is equipped with 1.5 m (4.9 ft) diameter payload fairings. The rocket is designed to send up to 305 kg up to low Earth orbit. This first mission, called “TestFlight1,” does not appear to have a payload on board. Delayed from May 4 due to a lack of launch permit.

Updated: May 28

June 29/30 H3 • DAICHI-4

Launch time: 12:06:42 – 12:19:34 p.m. JST (11:06:42 – 11:19:34 p.m. EDT, 0306:42-0319:34 UTC)

Launch site: Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center

The Japanese Exploration Aerospace Agency (JAXA) will launch the third flight of its H3 Launch Vehicle. The mission, H3 F3: Flight No. 3, will launch the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-4 “DAICHI-4” (ALOS-4). This Earth observation satellite is manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will use a phased array type L-band synthetic aperture radar (PALSAR-3) and is designed to operate for seven years or orbit.

Updated: April 26

NET July 8 Falcon 9 • Türksat 6A

Launch time: TBD

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Türksat 6A communications satellite for the Turkish operator Türksat. Türksat 6A is the first geostationary communications satellite to be built in Turkey, with development led by TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute and Turkish Aerospace Industries. Delayed from 2nd Quarter 2023 and March 2024.

Updated: March 25

NET July Falcon 9 • Polaris Dawn

Launch time: TBD

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Polaris Dawn mission will be commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, making his second trip to space. He will be joined on the all-private mission by pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. Delayed from November and December 2022, March 2023, April 2024 and early summer 2024.