This week will see 5 orbital launches from China, the USA, and French Guiana. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is anticipated to return to ship NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman House Telescope to Lagrange Level 2, with a further two Falcon 9 Starlink missions anticipated. Internationally, China’s Chang Zheng 6C is anticipated to launch an unknown payload, and Ariane 62 will launch the MTG-I2 payload from French Guiana.
Chang Zheng 6C | Unknown Payload
The primary launch of the week is an unknown payload atop a Chang Zheng 6C, scheduled to launch from Launch Advanced 9A (LC-9A) on the Taiyuan Satellite tv for pc Launch Heart in China on Tuesday, August 25. The 20-minute window opens at 03:20 UTC. The rocket will fly on a southerly trajectory to ship the payload to an unknown orbit.
Chang Zheng 6C is a 43-m, two-stage medium carry car able to delivering 2,400 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO). The primary stage is powered by two YF-100 engines fueled by kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The second stage incorporates a single YF-115 engine that additionally makes use of RP-1 and LOX as propellants. The car has a most thrust at liftoff of two,376 kN.
This mission would be the second total flight of Chang Zheng 6C and the primary of 2026.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-49
The primary SpaceX launch of the week is a Falcon 9 from House Launch Advanced 40 (SLC-40) on the Cape Canaveral House Pressure Station (CCSFS) in Florida on Tuesday, August 25. Launch is anticipated on the finish of a four-hour window at 5:33 AM EDT, with the window closing at 05:49 AM EDT.
Falcon 9 will launch on a northeasterly trajectory right into a LEO inclined by 53 levels. The car will ship 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites for the corporate’s Starlink web constellation. The primary-stage booster, B1067, will likely be on its thirty seventh flight, with SpaceX anticipated to land the booster downrange on the autonomous droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. B1067 is the present fleet chief, having beforehand accomplished 36 missions, together with the Crew-3, Crew-4, and 25 Starlink missions.
Falcon 9 is a two-stage partially reusable launch car that makes use of 9 Merlin 1D sea-level engines on its first stage, fueled by RP-1 and LOX, and a single Merlin 1D vacuum engine on its second stage, fueled by the identical propellants. This mission would be the a centesimal Falcon 9 mission of 2026.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 15-22
Falcon 9 is anticipated to launch the Starlink Group 15-22 mission from House Launch Advanced 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg House Pressure Base in California on Wednesday, August 26. The four-hour window opens at 02:27 AM PDT.
Falcon 9 will launch on a southeasterly trajectory right into a LEO inclined by 70 levels, delivering 27 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to the constellation’s Group 15 shell. SpaceX’s droneship Of Course I Nonetheless Love You will function the touchdown location for the primary stage booster, B1082, downrange within the Pacific Ocean. This mission will mark B1082’s twenty fourth mission, beforehand supporting the USSF-62, NROL-145, and 20 Starlink missions.
The mission will likely be Falcon 9’s 684th mission total and its one hundred and first mission of 2026.
Ariane 62 launches on a earlier mission from French Guiana. (Credit score: ESA)
Subsequent up is the MTG-I2 mission on an Ariane 62, anticipated to launch from Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 4 (ELA-4) on the Guiana House Centre in French Guiana on Thursday, August 27. A 150-minute launch window opens at 20:10 UTC, with the rocket anticipated to launch on an easterly trajectory to geostationary switch orbit.
The MTG-I2 satellite tv for pc will full the Meteosat Third Technology system of Earth remark satellites. Devices onboard embrace the Versatile Mixed Imager, which was constructed to supply close to real-time monitoring of Earth’s ambiance. One other instrument is the Lightning Imager, designed to detect gentle pulses produced by various kinds of lightning. These devices will work in tandem to supply extra correct and quicker climate forecasting for Europe and Africa.
Ariane 62 is a two-stage medium-lift launch car developed by ArianeGroup. This Ariane 6 configuration options two P160C boosters fueled by hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, ammonium perchlorate, and powdered aluminum. The primary stage, the LLPM, is powered by one Vulcain 2.1 engine fueled by LOX and liquid hydrogen (LH2). The second stage, the ULPM, is powered by a single Vinci engine fueled by the identical propellants. The car has a most thrust of 8,370 kN at liftoff.
The mission will function the fourth Ariane 6 launch of 2026 and the ninth total.
Roman throughout payload fairing encapsulation forward of launch. (Credit score: NASA)
Falcon Heavy | Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
The ultimate launch of the week is anticipated from Launch Advanced 39A (LC-39A) on the Kennedy House Heart in Florida on Sunday, August 30. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman House Telescope at 7:26 AM EDT throughout an instantaneous launch window. Falcon Heavy will comply with an easterly trajectory to ship Roman to the Solar-Earth Lagrange Level 2 (L2).
The 2 aspect boosters, an unknown booster and B1072, will carry out return-to-launch-site landings at SpaceX’s Touchdown Zone 2 (LZ-2) and Touchdown Zone 40 (LZ-40) on the Cape Canaveral House Pressure Station. The middle core booster, presently unknown, will likely be expended to offer Falcon Heavy the extra efficiency wanted to launch the ten,150 kg telescope.
Roman is anticipated to reply a few of the greatest questions on our universe. The Large Area instrument onboard is 100 occasions extra highly effective than the one on the Hubble House Telescope, regardless that the two.4-meter main mirror on the telescope is similar measurement as Hubble’s. Roman is designed to probably reply what darkish power is and to make use of a microlensing approach within the Internal Milky Method galaxy to find greater than 2,600 new exoplanets. Along with the first Large Area instrument, Roman incorporates a Coronagraph instrument that may carry out high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of close by exoplanets.
Diagram of Roman’s devices (Credit score: NASA)
Falcon Heavy is a two-stage tremendous heavy-lift launch car that makes use of a core Falcon 9 first stage accompanied by two aspect boosters. Every booster is provided with 9 Merlin 1D engines, with a complete of 27 engines at liftoff. The car, measuring 70 m in top, is able to delivering as much as 63,000 kg to LEO, with a complete liftoff thrust of twenty-two,819 kN.
The mission would be the second Falcon Heavy launch of 2026, and the thirteenth total. This mission can even function the 206th total orbital launch try worldwide in 2026.
(Lead Picture: Falcon 9 launch and touchdown in Florida. Credit score: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
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