Weekly Dose of Space (17/5-23/5)
Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! This week once again saw six launches taking place globally, with a new version of Starship flying for the first time. News during the week had the next crew to head to China's space station being announced and New Glenn being cleared to fly again. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.
May 17th - Long March 8 with Qianfan's 9th Group
From the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site, a Long March 8 flew into sun-synchronous orbit with eighteen satellites for the Qianfan internet connectivity constellation. It was the constellation's ninth overall group and brings the total spacecraft count up to 162.
May 19th - Vega-C with SMILE
Soaring from the Guiana Space Centre, in French Guiana in South America, a Vega-C delivered the SMILE spacecraft into its initial low Earth orbit for systems checks. The spacecraft is a cooperation between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to study Earthโs magnetosphere and its interaction with charged solar wind particles.
๐Vega-C rocket launched Smile mission this morning on quest to reveal Earthโs invisible shield against the solar wind.
— ESA Space Transport (@ESA_transport) May 19, 2026
๐Liftoff from @EuropeSpacePort at 04:52 BST / 05:52 CEST (00:52 local time) on 19 May 2026https://t.co/QfHXFQP2Vy pic.twitter.com/8wjKrIDn6c
May 20th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-42
Twenty-four Starlink satellites were brought into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 departing from Space Launch Complex 4E, in California. Supporting this launch was booster B1103 for its second flight, landing downrange on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You'.
May 21st - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-31
Another Falcon 9 placed twenty-nine more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, flying from Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida. Booster B1077 supported this launch for its twenty-eight mission, landing on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas' downrange.
May 22nd - Electron for 'Viva La StriX'
Rocket Lab flew its Electron rocket into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 1B, on the Mฤhia Peninsula in New Zealand, to deliver a new satellite for Synspective. That satellite, part of the StriX line, will be used for Earth imaging at a resolution between one and three meters.
LIFTOFF! Electron is on its way to space once again for @Synspective๐ pic.twitter.com/h527erQgM5
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) May 22, 2026
May 22nd - Starship-Super Heavy for its twelfth flight test
SpaceX launched its first 'Block 3' Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle from Starbase, Texas, to perform the latest flight test of the fully reusable system. Super Heavy Booster 19 supported ascent, failing during its return burn, and Ship 39 briefly headed into space, losing an engine on the way up.
In Other Space News
Shenzhou-23 crew revealed
At two press conferences on May 23rd, the China Manned Space Agency revealed who will head to the Tiangong Space Station for the next six months. Taikonauts named for the mission are Zhu Yangzhu, Li Jiaying, and Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhu Yangzhu, born in September 1986, was named as the Commander. He has previously visited the space station for 153 days via the Shenzhou-16 mission in the second half of 2023. Before his space career, Zhu worked as an Associate Professor of aerospace engineering within the Peopleโs Liberation Army.
Announced to be a Payload Specialist, Li Jiaying, born in November 1982, will be the first taikonaut from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to head into orbit, having been selected as part of the fourth batch in 2024. Prior to selection, she was a Chief Inspector of the Hong Kong Police Force and holds a PhD in computational and information science-related subjects.
For his first flight, Zhang Zhiyuan, born in June 1986, will be the mission's Spacecraft Pilot. He was selected as part of the third batch in 2020. Before selection, Zhang served in the Peopleโs Liberation Army Air Force as a pilot.
Towards the end of the Shenzhou-23 mission, one of the crew members will stay with the Shenzhou-24 crew to spend about a full year in orbit. That will allow for extensive research into human health in microgravity, and is allowing for the visit of a Pakistani astronaut for around a week (launching with Shenzhou-24, coming home with Shenzhou-23).
New Glenn cleared to return to flight
In mid-April, Blue Origin flew its New Glenn rocket for the third time, successfully reusing and landing its first-stage, but suffering issues with the second-stage, resulting in a customer payload being placed into an unusable orbit.
As a result of the issues, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration grounded the launch vehicle until Blue Origin could present what went wrong, along with corrective actions. According to a statement on May 22nd, the company presented relevant items to the regulator, which approved the vehicle to fly again.
Regarding what the issue was, the company stated the following:
"Prior to our second GS2 burn, we experienced an off-nominal thermal condition, and, as a result, one of the BE-3U engines didn't achieve full thrust to reach our target orbit."
While grounded, preparations towards New Glenn's fourth flight have continued in Florida, with booster 'No, It's Necessary' integrated with a second-stage and placed onto its transporter-erector for a pre-flight firing.
Fun video showcasing "No, It's Necessary" lifting on the Transporter Erector. Next stop integrated hotfire. "Never Tell Me The Odds" is in the house, too (well into itโs refurb cycle) pic.twitter.com/HnQO31inoq
— Dave Limp (@davill) May 22, 2026
What to Expect Next Week
May 24th - Long March 2F/G with Shenzhou-23
The Shenzhou-23 mission to the Tiangong Space Station, with Zhu Yangzhu, Li Jiaying, and Zhang Zhiyuan, launched atop of a Long March 2F/G from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
May 25th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-47
A Falcon 9 is set to deliver a batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.
May 26th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-37
Another batch of Starlink satellites are planned to be placed into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E by a Falcon 9.
May 27th - Long March 7A with a to-be-announced payload
A Long March 7A may liftoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, heading beyond low Earth orbit with a to-be-announced payload.
May 29th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-53
More Starlink satellites will head for low Earth orbit with Falcon 9, flying from Space Launch Complex 40.
May 30th - Atlas V with LA-07
United Launch Alliance is preparing to deliver twenty-nine satellites into low Earth orbit on behalf of Amazon to build its Leo space-based internet constellation.
