A number of orbital launches are scheduled worldwide this week. A mission to rescue the Swift observatory spacecraft is deliberate together with the primary full flight of a South Korean navy launcher. This week may additionally see the ultimate satellite tv for pc launch by an Atlas household rocket. There may be additionally an Electron launch from New Zealand.
The Swift rescue mission is flying out of Kwajalein Atoll within the Pacific, mounted inside the ultimate air-launched Pegasus launch car constructed. The Amazon Leo LA-08 and Starlink Group 10-50 flights will launch from Cape Canaveral, whereas Starlink Group 17-46 is ready to fly from California. Throughout the Pacific, the South Korean navy launcher can be joined by three Chinese language launches and an Electron launch for iQPS.
The South Korean ADD strong gasoline launch car launching on a check flight in December 2023. (Credit score: Yonhap)
ADD GYUB Solid-Fuel SLV | Demo Flight
The primary launch deliberate for the approaching week is the South Korean Company for Protection Improvement’s solid-fuel satellite tv for pc launch car, which is able to make its debut flight in its full configuration. The rocket was scheduled to fly from an offshore launch platform off of Jeju Island within the Yellow Sea, on Tuesday, June 30 at 05:00 UTC, with a window lasting till 09:00 UTC, however was scrubbed. The subsequent try is to be decided.
The 4 stage satellite tv for pc launch car, also referred to as Goche Yeonlyo Uju Balsache in Korean or GYUB, will take a southeasterly path, and the launch would be the first “all-up” flight of your entire car. The launcher has flown earlier than, with two suborbital launches testing particular person phases in 2022 together with one orbital check flight with out the second stage in late 2023.
The rocket can carry as much as 500 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO), and it was developed by the South Korean navy as a rapid-response resolution to launch artificial aperture radar reconnaissance satellites into orbit. The primary three phases are solid-fueled and the liquid-fueled fourth stage is designed to put satellites right into a exact orbit.
The South Korean navy in the end plans to develop its personal launcher that may carry as much as seven tonnes to Solar-synchronous orbit (SSO) or over three and a half tonnes into geostationary switch orbit.
Electron on the launch pad earlier than an earlier iQPS mission. (Credit score: Rocket Lab)
Electron | The Grain Goddess Provides
Rocket Lab has scheduled an Electron launch for the Japanese firm iQPS to begin its month of July. “The Grain Goddess Gives” is ready to fly on Wednesday, July 1, at 01:15 UTC from the corporate’s personal launch web site on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.
The rocket will take an eastbound trajectory and launch the 100 kg QPS-SAR-13 satellite tv for pc right into a round 575 km LEO inclined 42 levels to the equator. The satellite tv for pc, also referred to as Mikura-I, is designed to look at Earth by means of cloud and in darkness with its artificial aperture radar and is the most recent in a deliberate constellation of 36 satellites to fly.
This flight will mark the thirteenth flight of Electron in 2026. It’s also the 92nd flight of Electron general as Rocket Lab attracts nearer to 100 launches for Electron since 2017.
Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 service plane Stargazer and the final Pegasus XL seen at Wallops Flight Facility on June 17, 2026. (Credit score: NASA/Ron Beard)
Pegasus XL | Swift Boost Mission
Northrop Grumman is planning to launch the final ever mission of a Pegasus air-launched rocket from Kwajalein Atoll within the Pacific on Wednesday, July 1, at 09:43 UTC. The rocket, first launched from a B-52 in 1990, was the world’s first privately developed area launch car and is now on the finish of its profession.
The rocket is mounted on the stomach of the world’s final flying Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, often known as Stargazer and initially modified by the rocket’s developer, Orbital Sciences Company, to fly operational Pegasus missions for purchasers. Stargazer supported its first Pegasus launch in 1994 and has launched missions from Florida, Virginia, California, Kwajalein Atoll, and the Canary Islands.
For this mission, Stargazer will launch a Pegasus XL over the Pacific, and the rocket will carry the 400 kg Katalyst LINK robotic servicing spacecraft into an preliminary round orbit at round 400 km altitude. The spacecraft’s orbit will be predisposed 20.6 levels to the equator to match the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
Artist’s impression of the Katalyst Hyperlink servicing craft approaching the Swift observatory. (Credit score: Katalyst House Applied sciences)
Swift, launched in 2004, is a multi-wavelength observatory designed to review gamma-ray bursts in deep area. Nevertheless, the spacecraft, designed for a two-year prime mission, can also be used to look at different phenomena and characterize these occasions with tools able to observing in seen gentle, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.
Just lately, an uptick in photo voltaic exercise triggered the Swift observatory’s orbital altitude to begin declining, and NASA was confronted with the mission ending in a fiery reentry probably earlier than the top of 2026. In 2025, the company issued a contract to Katalyst House Applied sciences, headquartered in Flagstaff, Arizona, to develop and construct the LINK spacecraft to be prepared inside a 12 months.
The LINK spacecraft will rendezvous with Swift and use three robotic arms to latch onto the veteran observatory. LINK will step by step elevate Swift’s altitude to permit it to proceed its mission. In the meantime, the Pegasus program could have ended after its forty sixth and final launch, and the L-1011 Stargazer’s disposition is to be decided.
A Chang Zheng 4C launching from Jiuquan. (Credit score: China Every day Information)
Chang Zheng 4C | Unknown Payload
A Chang Zheng 4C (CZ-4C) is scheduled to fly on Wednesday, July 1, at 23:45 UTC from Website 94 on the Jiuquan Satellite tv for pc Launch Middle in northwest China. The payload isn’t publicly recognized, however the rocket will take a southerly trajectory appropriate for satellites utilizing SSOs.
These orbits are sometimes utilized by Earth statement, reconnaissance, and scientific satellites. The three stage CZ-4C, developed from ICBM know-how and utilizing storable however poisonous hypergolic fuels, can carry as much as 2,800 kg to SSO.
This flight would be the second CZ-4C launch of 2026 and the sixtieth mission general of the kind. Though China more and more makes use of extra fashionable rockets, the CZ-4 collection continues to be used to fly payloads into orbit.
Starlink Group 17-35 launching onboard B1103 from VSFB on April 6. (Credit score: SpaceX)
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-46
SpaceX is planning to launch the Starlink Group 17-46 mission from House Launch Advanced 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg House Power Base (VSFB) on Wednesday, July 1, at 7:00 PM PDT (02:00 UTC on July 2). The launch window lasts till 11:00 PM PDT on July 1 (06:00 UTC on July 2).
Booster B1100, flying on its seventh mission, will take a southerly trajectory and land aboard Of Course I Nonetheless Love You within the Pacific. The mission will carry 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into SSO earlier than the second stage is disposed of within the ambiance.
The booster began its profession with the Starlink Group 11-30 mission, and B1100 additionally has flown 4 different Starlink missions together with NROL-105, all from SLC-4E at VSFB. This flight is to be the 77th Falcon 9 launch of 2026.
The ultimate Atlas V 551 car receiving its satellite tv for pc payload for the LA-08 mission. (Credit score: ULA)
Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo LA-08
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) is scheduled to fly the ultimate Atlas V 551 configuration car on the Amazon Leo LA-08 mission on Thursday, July 3, at 12:24 AM EDT (04:24 UTC) from House Launch Advanced 41 (SLC-41) on the Cape Canaveral House Power Station (CCSFS). The window lasts till 12:53 AM EDT (04:53 UTC).
The rocket will take a northeast trajectory after launch from SLC-41, and can launch 29 Amazon Leo broadband web satellites to LEO. LA-08 is the eighth and closing launch of Amazon Leo aboard the Atlas rocket, which is being phased out in favor of ULA’s Vulcan.
This launch can also be the ultimate flight for the Atlas V 551 configuration, which makes use of 5 GEM-63 strong rocket boosters, a 5 meter fairing, and a single engine Centaur higher stage. LA-08, the fourth Atlas V launch of 2026 and the a hundred and tenth general of the household, additionally might be the ultimate launch of any Atlas rocket, if the troubled Boeing Starliner doesn’t fly once more.
ULA has six Atlas V rockets left, however they’re all the N22 configuration with no fairing, two strong rocket boosters, and the dual-engine Centaur. NASA has scheduled the Starliner-1 cargo flight because the spacecraft’s return to flight, however the launch date is to be decided.
Chang Zheng 8A lifts off on its maiden launch from Wenchang. (Credit score: SpaceLens)
Chang Zheng 8A | Unknown Payload
China is ready to fly a Chang Zheng 8A (CZ-8A) on Thursday, July 2, at 13:50 UTC from the Business LC-1 launch pad on the Wenchang House Launch Website on Hainan Island off the southern coast of China. The window closes at 14:12 UTC.
The 2 stage CZ-8A will take a southerly trajectory. The payload isn’t at present recognized, however the trajectory is appropriate for a SSO broadly utilized by Earth statement, reconnaissance, and science satellites. The car has two strap-on boosters, and future variations of the rocket household might be partially reusable with the boosters returning to Earth together with the core.
The rocket is able to flying as much as 7,000 kg to SSO, 8,100 kg to LEO, or 2,800 kg to geostationary switch orbit. The CZ-8A subtype was initially launched in 2025 and this flight is the fifth mission of 2026 for the CZ-8 household as a complete.
Starlink satellites earlier than deployment in orbit. (Credit score: SpaceX)
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-50
SpaceX is planning to fly the Starlink Group 10-50 mission on a Falcon 9 from House Launch Advanced 40 (SLC-40) at CCSFS on Friday, July 3, at 7:20 AM EDT (11:20 UTC). The window lasts till 11:20 AM EDT (15:20 UTC).
On its thirteenth mission, booster B1090 will take a northeast trajectory earlier than touchdown on A Shortfall of Gravitas, marking Falcon 9’s 650th restoration try. The mission will launch 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to LEO.
The booster’s profession began with the O3b MPOWER 7 & 8 flight, and B1090 additionally has launched Crew-10, Bandwagon-3, O3b MPOWER 9 & 10, CRS-33, and 7 Starlink missions. Starlink Group 10-50 would be the 78th Falcon 9 mission of the 12 months.
A CZ-6A launching from Taiyuan with 18 Qianfan broadband satellites. (Credit score: Ourspace)
Chang Zheng 6A | Qianfan Jigui 13A-R
China plans to launch a Chang Zheng 6A (CZ-6A) rocket on Saturday, July 4, at 09:21 UTC from Launch Advanced 9A (LC-9A) on the Taiyuan Satellite tv for pc Launch Middle in central China. The launch window lasts till 09:41 UTC.
The rocket will take a southerly trajectory appropriate for a payload going to a SSO. The 2 stage rocket, geared up with 4 strong rocket boosters, carries as much as 6,500 kg to a 500 km SSO.
The flight is carrying Qianfan broadband web satellites. Taiyuan regularly helps Qianfan and Guowang broadband web satellite tv for pc and Earth statement launches. This flight is the sixth launch of the 12 months for the CZ-6A.
(Lead picture: Falcon 9 launch streak from Florida. Credit score: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
The submit Launch Preview: Swift rescue mission, closing Atlas satellite tv for pc launch appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
