Weekly Dose of Space (22/2-28/2)

Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! This week saw five launches occurring, taking place on both U.S. coasts. News from the week had China confirming it will fly a Pakistani astronaut this year and Rocket Lab delaying its Neutron rocket. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.

Launches This Week

February 22nd - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-104

A Falcon 9 launched out of Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida, carrying twenty-eight Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Supporting this mission was booster B1067, flying for a thirty-third time and landing downrange on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas'.

February 24th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-110

Twenty-nine more Starlink satellites were placed into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 via a Falcon 9. Booster B1092 supported this launch for its tenth flight, landing on the drone ship 'Just Read The Instructions' downrange.

February 25th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-26

From Space Launch Complex 4E, in California, twenty-five Starlink satellites were launched atop of a Falcon 9 and sent into low Earth orbit. Supporting this mission was booster B1093, flying for an eleventh time and landing downrange on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You'.

February 27th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 6-108

Another twenty-nine Starlink satellites were delivered to low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 40. Booster B1069 supported this launch for its thirtieth flight, landing on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas' downrange.

February 28th - Electron for 'That's Not a Knife'

For the final February launch, Rocket Lab flew on a suborbital path with its Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE), carrying Hypersonix's 'DART AE'. The launch tested out 'DART AE' for the first time as well as its hydrogen scramjet engine.

In Other Space News

Pakistani astronaut to visit Tiangong this year

The China Manned Space Agency shared an overview of its upcoming tasks for 2026 this week, detailing that hardware for crewed lunar missions will continue to be developed this year alongside routine missions to the Tiangong Space Station.

A major point of the space agency's plan for the year was a brief visit to the space station by a Pakistani astronaut, launching via the Shenzhou-24 mission and returning to Earth on the outgoing Shenzhou-23. The visiting astronaut is currently undergoing training in China, alongside a backup candidate. That visit is being enabled by a yearlong stay in orbit by one of China's taikonauts, beginning with Shenzhou-23 and ending when Shenzhou-24 returns to Earth.

This year could also see a taikonaut from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions heading to space, following their selection as part of a standard group in 2024.

Rocket Lab Delays Neutron to end of 2026

Via an earnings call on February 26th, Rocket Lab announced that the first flight of its partially reusable launch vehicle Neutron has been delayed to the last quarter of 2026 (October, November, December).

Delays for the launch stem from a failed propellant tank hydrostatic test in January. According to the company's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Beck, the tank met expected flight pressures but did not meet further criteria to understand the limits of the hardware.

The root cause of the failure is believed to stem from the process of hand-laying the composite propellant tank sections, according to Rocket Lab. Production of future propellant tanks has already moved toward automation, removing the chance of a similar failure. Rocket Lab also plans to minorly modify the propellant tanks' design to increase structural margins and manufacturability.

What to Expect Next Week

March 1st - Alpha for 'Stairway To Seven'

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha is expected to fly for the seventh time out of the Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California, to verify upgrades to the vehicle while being a return to flight mission.

March 1st - KAIROS with four satellites

Japanese company Space One is hoping to finally have its KAIROS launch vehicle reach orbit with four satellites set to be aboard its third flight, out of Space Port Kii, in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.

March 1st - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-23

SpaceX is preparing to launch a group of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit out of Space Launch Complex 4E atop of Falcon 9.

March 2nd - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-41

More Starlink satellites will be launched via a Falcon 9 to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.

March 4th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-40

Another Falcon 9 is expected to fly out of Space Launch Complex 40 and into low Earth orbit carrying a group of Starlink satellites.

March 4th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-18

Yet more Starlink satellites will be placed into low Earth orbit with a launch out of Space Launch Complex 4E by a Falcon 9.