The mission will also test out a series of improvements to the launcher to help push it closer to full reusability. Liftoff from pad 2 at Starbase, Texas, is scheduled during a 90-minute window that opens at 5:45 p.m. CDT (6:45 p.m. EDT / 2245 UTC).
The Tranche 1 Transporter Layer E (T1TL-E) mission is the third batch of operational satellites launched to support the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture satellite constellation. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 1:32 p.m. PDT (4:32 p.m. EDT / 2032 UTC).
The Starlink 10-45 mission added another 29 broadband internet satellites to SpaceX’s low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 5:10 a.m. EDT (0910 UTC).
Liftoff of the Starlink 10-50 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 6:50 a.m. EDT (1050 UTC). The rocket’s first-stage booster carried two semiconductor manufacturing pods for Besxar Space Industries.
The Starlink 17-46 mission flew on the 77th Falcon 9 rocket launch of the year. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:58 p.m. PDT (10:58 p.m. EDT / 0258 UTC).
On May 27, flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston noticed one of the Canadian-built arm’s seven joints was drawing more current than expected and not moving properly.
The explosion of a New Glenn rocket on May 28 is still under investigation. The company said it’s moving to a hybrid horizontal-vertical integration for its rockets moving forward.
The SXM-11 satellite was built by Intuitive Machines and is more than 230-feet-tall. Liftoff on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 UTC).
The Starlink 17-40 mission will add another 24 broadband internet satellites to SpaceX’s low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 9:09 a.m. PDT (12:09 p.m. EDT / 1609 UTC)
Liftoff of the Starlink 17-45 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California occurred at 8:30 p.m. PDT (11:30 p.m. EDT / 0330 UTC).
The mission is the debut of a new reentry capsule developed by SpaceX that weighs about 2,100 kg (4,600 lbs). Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:53 a.m. EDT (1053 UTC).
The $4.3 billion observatory will go through about 70 days of prelaunch processing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center before it launches on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket no earlier than August 30.