IO Group: https://groups.io/g/DARCskynet/topics
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
ULA Successfully Launches 29 Amazon Leo Satellites on Record-Tying Atlas V Flight (May 29, 2026)
China Launches Qianfan Polar Orbiting Satellite 11 via Long March-6A Rocket (June 4, 2026)
NASA Demonstrates PExT Terminal for Multi-Network Satellite Communications (June 6, 2026)
Space-Related Birthdays
| Astronaut | Birthday | Birth Year | FCC Callsign | Flights | Notes |
| Georgi Dobrovolsky | June 1 | 1928 | None | Soyuz 11 | He commanded the Soyuz 11 mission and served as crew on Salyut 1, the world’s first space station, spending 22 days in orbit. He and his fellow crew members died during reentry due to a cabin depressurization valve failure. |
| Pete Conrad | June 2 | 1930 | None | Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12, Skylab 2 | He commanded Apollo 12, and was the third person to walk on the Moon. He commanded Skylab 2 which repaired the damaged Skylab in orbit. |
| Richard Searfoss | June 5 | 1956 | KC5CKM | STS-58, STS-76, STS-90 | He piloted STS-58 and STS-76, the latter docked with the Russian Mir space station to deliver astronaut Shannon Lucid. He later commanded STS-90 Neurolab, a mission dedicated to studying the effects of microgravity on the human nervous system. |
| Curtis Michel | June 5 | 1934 | None | None | Selected as one of the six scientist-astronauts in NASA Astronaut Group 4 in 1965, Michel completed pilot training but resigned from NASA in 1969 to return to full-time scientific research at Rice University without having flown in space. |
| David Scott | June 6 | 1932 | None | Gemini 8, Apollo 9, Apollo 15 | He flew with Neil Armstrong on Gemini 8, performing the first successful docking of two spacecraft in orbit. He later commanded Apollo 15, the first extended “J-mission” to the Moon, which saw the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. |
| Jay C. Buckey | June 6 | 1956 | None | STS-90 | Served as a payload specialist aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-90 Neurolab mission. During this flight he conducted numerous experiments focusing on how weightlessness affects brain and nervous system functions. |
This Week in Space History
May 31 (2020): Docking of SpaceX Demo-2
June 1 (1970): Launch of Soyuz 9
June 2 (1966): Lunar Landing of Surveyor 1
June 3 (1965): Launch of Gemini IV and First American Spacewalk
June 4 (2010): Maiden Flight of Falcon 9 Rocket
June 5 (2024): Launch of Boeing Crew Flight Test (Starliner)
June 6 (1971): Launch of Soyuz 11
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
8. Space Launches For This Week
Tom KE5ICX
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
June 6/7 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-43
Launch time: 9:24:30 p.m. PDT (12:24:30 a.m. EDT / 0424:30 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 21 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites and two Starshield into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1097, launching for a 10th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: June 06
June 8 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-35
Launch time: Window opens 6:07 a.m. EDT (1007 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number 1067, launching for a 35th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Moved up from June 8. Delayed from June 7.
Updated: June 06
NET June 9/10 H3 • 30 Morphological Tester
Launch time: 9:53 a.m. JST / 0053 UTC on June 10 (8:53 p.m. EDT on June 9)
Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center
An H3 launch vehicle, a rocket developed through a partnership between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), will launch six small sub-satellites (PETREL, STARS-X, BRO-22, VERTECS, HORN -L, HORN-R). JAXA said the rocket is “equipped with a payload (VEP-5) for rocket performance confirmation to demonstrate the flight of the H3 rocket 30 form.” This will be the ninth launch of an H3 rocket.
Updated: May 24
June 10 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-44
Launch time: Window opens at 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT / 1400 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1071, launching for a 34th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Booster previously listed as B1097.
Updated: June 01
TBD Falcon 9 • Globalstar 2-R Launch 1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch nine of its HIBLEO-4 satellites into low Earth orbit. This is the first of two launches that constitute a replenishment of its HIBLEO-4 fleet. Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1090, launching for a 12th time, will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from May 18. Delayed from May 20.
Updated: May 23
NET July Atlas 5 • Leo Atlas 08
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch a batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit. This is the ninth and final Atlas 5 rocket that the tech giant booked to launch its broadband internet satellites.
Updated: May 30
Late summer Alpha • FLTA008
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-2, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket will launch on mission for a yet unannounced customer. This will be the debut of the Block 2 iteration of the rocket, which features larger liquid oxygen tanks on both the first and second stages, increasing the overall length of the rocket by two meters.
Updated: May 05
NET Q4 2026 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, April 2024 and September 2024. Delayed from 2025.
Updated: December 22
TBD Atlas 5 • Boeing Starliner-1
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. Originally planned as the first post-certification flight with a four-person crew, this will instead be an uncrewed cargo flight to test changes to the vehicle made in the aftermath of the Crewed Flight Test that launched in 2024.
Updated: April 09
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
You can use the http://www.heavens-above.com website to find out what’s in orbit and
where to look during fly-overs
NO SIGNIFICANT PASSES FOR THIS WEEK