Weekly Dose of Space (7/6-13/6)
Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! This week had eight launches during the week, with the majority flying over the Pacific. News from the week had SpaceX becoming a public company and lofty aims for the Qianfan constellation. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.
June 7th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-43
Twenty-one Starlink satellites and two military Starshield satellites were placed into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 4E, in California. Supporting this mission was booster B1097, flying for the tenth time and landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.
June 8th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-35
Another twenty-nine Starlink satellites were delivered to low Earth orbit via Falcon 9, launching from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Booster B1067 supported this launch for its thirty-fifth mission, with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas'.
June 9th - Zhuque-2E with two mobile connectivity satellites
LandSpace's Zhuque-2E flew into low Earth orbit carrying Shanghai Spacesail Technologies 'Qianfan Direct-To-Cell-01 Satellite' and China Mobile's 'China Mobile Satellite 02'. Both satellites will test providing connectivity services to mobile devices across China.
June 11th - Long March 5 with TJSW-25
A Long March 5 flew from the Wenchang Space Launch Site towards geostationary space with the TJSW-25 satellites inside of its longer 18.5-meter fairing. The satellites is said to be tasked with demonstrating multi-band, high-throughput communications technologies for radio, television, and data transmission.
June 11th - Electron for 'Curveball'
Rocket Lab's Electron rocket flew in its HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) configuration from Launch Complex-2, on Wallops Island in Virginia. Atop of the rocket was a U.S. military-backed payload.
June 11th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-44
SpaceX launched another twenty-four Starlink satellites atop of a Falcon 9 departing from Space Launch Complex 4E. Supporting this launch was booster B1071 for its thirty-fourth flight, touching down on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/RngdIhbGY1
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 11, 2026
June 12th - H3 for a no-booster test flight
Japan flew its H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center into sun-synchronous orbit, carrying an inert mass payload as well as six small satellites. The flight primarily served as a test flight of a new variant with three LE-9 engines on the first-stage with no solid rocket boosters. It was also the rocket's return to flight mission.
June 12th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 10-54
Yet another Falcon 9, flying from Space Launch Complex 40, carried twenty-nine Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1080 supported this mission for its twenty-seventh flight, landing downrange on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas'.
In Other Space News
SpaceX goes public
While launching four Falcon 9's this week, SpaceX was also busy on global financial markets with an initial public offering on June 12th.
Being initially listed at 135 United States Dollars per share, to raise 75 billion for future goals, a few hours passed before the first trades took place, raising its price to 150 per share. While fluctuating to lows of 148, markets closed at a price of 160 United States Dollars, valuing SpaceX at two trillion.
What now remains to be seen is how SpaceX will continue to trade for a full business week once markets open on Monday. How retail investors will respond to likely future failures and missed deadlines of Starship-Super Heavy, which future growth is bet on, is also unknown.
Qianfan aims to wrap first phase by end of July
For the past twenty-two months, since August 2024, Shanghai Spacesail Technologies has been gradually building its Qianfan space-based connectivity constellation. As of its twelfth launch, 200 satellites have been placed into orbit.
Recently, in an interview with one of the constellation's satellite contractors, it was revealed that a total of 324 satellites are desired to be in orbit by the end of July, to complete the first phase. That would necessitate launching 124 satellites in the next seven weeks via seven launches, if deployed in their usual groups of 18.
Previously, it was known that 324 satellites were to be launched throughout the entire year, and repeated again in 2027. In the years after deployment aims are substantially higher, with 4,000 in 2028 and 2029, followed by 5,000 in 2030.
What to Expect Next Week
June 15th - Kinetica-1 with a handful of satellites
CAS Space is preparing to fly its Kinetica-1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center toward sun-synchronous orbit, carrying a few satellites for several customers.
June 15th - Falcon 9 with Starlink Group 17-54
SpaceX is planning to launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit via Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4E.
June 15th - Spectrum for 'Onward and Upward'
Isar Aerospace is expected to perform Spectrum's second flight, aiming to fly from the Andøya Spaceport, in Norway, for more than a dozen seconds with six small satellites onboard.
June 16th - Long March 3B/E for its return to flight
The Long March 3B/E launch vehicle is set to perform its return to flight mission from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, after a surprising third-stage issue caused a failed flight in January.
June 17th - Falcon 9 with three BlueBird satellites
AST SpaceMobile is set to have three BlueBird mobile broadband satellites placed into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 40.
June 17th - Ariane 6 for LE-03
Europe's Ariane 6 is preparing to fly into low Earth orbit, from the Guiana Space Centre in South America, with thirty-six Leo satellites to build out Amazon's space-based internet connectivity constellation.
June 17th - Electron for 'Ten Owl Of Ten'
Rocket Lab is working to launch its Electron rocket into low Earth orbit to deliver an Earth imaging satellite for Synspective.
June 18th - Falcon 9 with NROL-179
SpaceX is set to place a handful of military satellites into low Earth orbit via a Falcon 9 launch from Space Launch Complex 4E.
June 20th - Falcon 9 with Globalstar 2-R Mission 1
Falcon 9 will place nine satellites into low Earth orbit, from Space Launch Complex 40, to establish the second generation of Globalstar's mobile communications services.
