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Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
Billye KF5PDS
“Astrophysics Pioneers”
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
NASA Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Reboost Mission Launched From Wallops (June 18, 2026)
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Arrives in Florida for Launch Prep (June 22, 2026)
U.S. Space Force’s Victus Haze Spacecraft Launched by Rocket Lab (June 19, 2026)
SpaceX Launches Secretive Starfall Reentry Capsule Demo Mission (June 23, 2026)
Space-Related Birthdays
| Astronaut | Birthday | Birth Year | FCC Callsign | Flights | Notes |
| Yang Liwei | June 21 | 1965 | None | Shenzhou 5 | He was the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program, commanding the historic Shenzhou 5 mission in 2003. His successful 21-hour flight made China the third country to independently launch a human into orbit. |
| Oleg Kononenko | June 21 | 1964 | None | Soyuz TMA-12, Soyuz TMA-03M, Soyuz MS-11, Soyuz MS-24/MS-25 | He has completed five long-duration missions to the International Space Station, logging over 1,000 cumulative days in orbit. During his extensive career, he has performed multiple spacewalks to conduct critical maintenance and scientific experiments outside the station. |
| Gennady Padalka | June 21 | 1958 | None | Soyuz TM-28, Soyuz TMA-9, Soyuz TMA-14, Soyuz TMA-04M, Soyuz TMA-16M | He is a Russian cosmonaut who spent a total of 878 days in space across five missions, setting a long-standing record for cumulative time in space. He commanded the Mir space station once and served as commander of the International Space Station during four different expeditions. |
| Donn F. Eisele | June 23 | 1930 | None | Apollo 7 | He served as the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 7, the first crewed mission in the Apollo program to fly in space. During the eleven-day Earth-orbital flight, the crew successfully tested the spacecraft systems and performed the first live television transmission from an American spacecraft. |
| Jasmin Moghbeli | June 24 | 1983 | KI5WSL | SpaceX Crew-7 (Expedition 69/70) | She served as the Commander of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station, where she logged 199 days in orbit. During Expedition 69/70, she conducted a variety of scientific research projects and performed a spacewalk lasting over six hours. |
| Bernard A. Harris Jr. | June 26 | 1956 | None | STS-55, STS-63 | He flew as a mission specialist on STS-55 and later on STS-63, conducting vital medical and science experiments in microgravity. During the STS-63 mission, he made history as the first African American astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity. |
| Pavel Belyayev | June 26 | 1925 | None | Voskhod 2 | He commanded the Voskhod 2 mission in 1965, during which crew member Alexei Leonov performed the first-ever human spacewalk. When the automatic landing system failed, he manually piloted the spacecraft to a safe landing in the Ural Mountains. |
| Nicole Aunapu Mann | June 27 | 1977 | None | SpaceX Crew-5 (Expedition 68) | She commanded the SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station, becoming the first Native American woman in space. She spent 157 days in orbit, conducting scientific experiments and performing two spacewalks to install new solar arrays on the station. |
| Joseph P. Allen | June 27 | 1937 | WA4SIR | STS-5, STS-51-A | He flew as a mission specialist on STS-5, the first operational flight of the Space Shuttle program, and later on STS-51-A. During STS-51-A, he performed two spacewalks to retrieve two malfunctioning communication satellites and secure them in the shuttle cargo bay. |
This Week in Space History
SpaceShipOne Flight 15P (June 21, 2004)
Skylab 2 Splashdown (June 22, 1973)
Mars Odyssey’s 60,000th Orbit (June 23, 2015)
Collision on Mir Space Station (June 25, 1997)
Space Shuttle Discovery’s Launch Pad Abort (June 26, 1984)
STS-71 Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch (June 27, 1995)
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
“Lupus the Wolf”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
June 28/29 Falcon 9 • SXM-11
Launch time: Window opens at 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the latest geostationary satellite for satellite radio company, SiriusXM. The SXM-11 satellite was built by Lanteris Space Systems (formerly Maxar Space Systems), a subsidiary of Intuitive Machines, on its 1300-class platform. The first stage booster, tail number B1085, launching for a 17th time, will land on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean following stage separation.
Updated: June 23
June 30 Pegasus • Swift boost
Launch time: 6:23 a.m. EDT (1023 UTC)
Launch site: Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Northrop Grumman’s Stargazer airplane will launch its Pegasus XL rocket carrying the Link spacecraft, manufactured by Katalyst Space Systems. Stargazer will carry the Pegasus XL up to an altitude of around 40,000 feet before releasing it. The Link spacecraft will rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and boost it to a safe operating orbit. Delayed from June 27.
Updated: June 26
July 1/2 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-46
Launch time: Window opens at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT / 0200 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 B1100, launching for a seventh time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: June 23
NET July 2 Atlas 5 • Leo Atlas 08
Launch time: Window opens at 12:24 a.m. EDT (0424 UTC)
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. Moved up from July 3.
Updated: June 18
July 3 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-50
Launch time: Window opens at 7:20 a.m. EDT (1120 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 1090, launching for a 13th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: June 23
July 9 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-42
Launch time: TBD
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 36th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: June 26
July 10 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-48
Launch time: TBD
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 B1097, launching for an 11th time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Delayed from July 6.
Updated: June 26
TBD Spectrum • ‘Onward and Upward’
Launch time: Window opens at 10 p.m. CEST (4 p.m. EDT / 2000 UTC)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Andøya Spaceport, Norway
A Spectrum rocket from Isar Aerospace will launch on its second test flight. The two-stage rocket is carrying five CubeSats onboard: CyBEEsat from TU Berlin, TriSat-S from the University of Maribor, Platform 6 from EnduroSat, FramSat-1 from NTNU, and SpaceTeamSat1 from TU Wien Space Team. The sixth and final announced payload is an experiment called “Let it Go” from Dcubed. Exolaunch is responsible for managing payload integration and deployment. Delayed from Jan. 21 due to a pressurization valve issue. Delayed from March 23 due to strong winds. Delayed from March 25 due to boat in the keep out zone. Delayed from April 9 and June 15.
Updated: June 26
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
