Weekly Dose of Space (14/6-20/6)
Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! This week had another eight launches taking place, with half occurring on the same day. News of the week had an orbital refueling contract being awarded and Relativity Space teaming up with NASA. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.
June 15th - Kinetica-1 with eight CGSTL-made satellites
CAS Space flew its Kinetica-1 launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to place eight satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. Eight remote sensing satellites were revealed to be onboard, all made by Changguang Satellite Technology Co Ltd, with a few notable ones being:
- Caiyun Optical-01, dedicated to Yunnan province's natural resources.
- Antie-03, to be used for 'smart' management of Fujian province's tea plants.
- ‘Lichuan Red', for supporting the city of Lichuan's tea industry,
- Cultural Relics-01, tasked with monitoring national cultural heritage sites.
June 15th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-54
Flying from Space Launch Complex 4E, in California, a Falcon 9 placed twenty-four Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Supporting this launch was booster B1093, launching for the fourteenth time and touching down on the droneship 'Of Course I Still Love You'.
June 16th - Long March 3B/E with Shijian-31
For its return-to-flight mission, a Long March 3B/E lofted the Shijian-31 space environment exploration satellite into a Molniya orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The return mission also tested a few unspecified technical upgrades installed during the five months of downtime.
June 17th - Long March 12 with GuoWang Group 22
Departing from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, a Long March 12 delivered nine GuoWang space-based connectivity satellites into low Earth orbit. This launch has brought the constellation to 177 deployed satellites.
June 17th - Kuaizhou-11 with CentiSpace Group-05
ExPace's Kuaizhou-11 blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and headed for low Earth orbit to deliver the Future Navigation's CentiSpace Group-05, its third deployment. Those satellites are set to provide positing services once further groups are added.
June 17th - Falcon 9 with three BlueBird satellites
SpaceX's Falcon 9 headed into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida, to deliver three BlueBird satellites, numbered 8 through 10, on behalf of AST SpaceMobile, to slowly build its 248-spacecraft constellation. Booster B1077 supported this launch for its twenty-ninth flight, landing downrange on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas'.
June 17th - Ariane 6 for LE-03
Europe's Ariane 6 flew with four upgraded solid rocket boosters from the Guiana Space Center, in South America, to place thirty-six Leo satellites into low Earth orbit for Amazon's space-based internet constellation. This launch brought Amazon's total satellite count up to 367.
Up close: Ariane 6 rocket liftoff 🚀
— ESA Space Transport (@ESA_transport) June 19, 2026
This is what the most powerful rocket launch in European history looks – and sounds – like from just 141 metres from the launch pad, 17 June 2026.https://t.co/PmZJQ1vOqj pic.twitter.com/RxDegWGouF
June 19th - Falcon 9 for NROL-179
A Falcon 9 flew out of Space Launch Complex 4E to place a group of U.S. military satellites into Earth orbit that will be operated by the National Reconnaissance Office. Supporting their launch was booster B1103 for its third mission, touching down at Landing Zone 4 next to its launch pad.
In Other Space News
Relativity Space Teams up with NASA for Mars Science Mission
On June 17th, Relativity Space and NASA announced a next generation Mars orbiter, with the Aeolus suit of scientific tech onboard.
Aeolus is currently being developed by NASA Ames in California, while the rest of the orbiter will be built by Relativity Space. The future Martian explorer has the goal of studying the red planets weather while also mapping ice and other mineral deposits.
Onboard, the orbiter has its own compute system, able to do in-situ data analysis to not stress the Deep Space Network too much.
Quantum Space wins Pentagon Orbital Refueling Contract
Maryland based startup, Quantum Space has won a contract from the Department of Defense to refuel satellites in Geostationary Orbit. Using the companies "Ranger" spacecraft platform, Quantum Space intends on delivering the spacecraft by 2028.
While not much is known about the contract amount, what we do know is that the tech demo will fly two different fueling interfaces. One was built by Orbit Fab and the other, Northrop Grumman.
Following a slip from this year, Quantum Space plans on launching its first Ranger spacecraft, dubbed "Ranger Prime" sometime in Q2, 2027.
What to Expect Next Week
June 21st - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-28
SpaceX plans to add another group of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit via a launch from Space Launch Complex 4E.
June 23rd - Long March 7A with a to-be-announced payload
A Long March 7A is preparing to fly towards geostationary space from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, carrying a satellite that is yet to be named.
June 23rd - Falcon 9 to demonstrate 'Starfall'
SpaceX is aiming to demonstrate its new uncrewed Starfall capsules with the release of a single one from a Falcon 9, flying from Space Launch Complex 40, possibly co-manifested with other spacecraft.
June 25th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-45
Another group of Starlink satellites are set to be placed into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 4E.
June 27th - Pegasus for Swift's Boost Mission
Northrop Grumman's final Pegasus air-launched rocket is being prepared to deliver Katalyst Space Technologies' robotic servicing spacecraft, which should head to NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to raise its orbit, extending its life in orbit.
