Welcome back to Weekly Dose of Space! Last week saw six orbital launches taking place globally, with human spaceflight missions using two. News from the week has seen China preparing to debut three reusable launch vehicles and the European Space Agency securing funding for the next three years. As always, we'll also look ahead to what the worldwide launch schedule might look like next week.

Launches This Week

Twenty-eight Starlink satellites were delivered to low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 flying out of Space Launch Complex 4E, in California. Supporting this mission was booster B1100 for its first flight, with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You'.

Deployment of twenty-eight Starlink satellites as seen by Falcon 9's second-stage, via SpaceX on Twitter.

November 25th - Long March 2F/G with Shenzhou-22

An uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft rode into orbit toward China's Tiangong Space Station atop of Long March 2F/G out of Launch Area 4 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This launch was to provide the Shenzhou-21 taikonauts with a way to return to Earth alongside scientific cargo after the Shenzhou-20 crew took their spacecraft back to Earth following a debris strike involving the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft.

The Long March 2F/G Y22 vehicle lifting from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft toward the Tiangong Space Station.
The Long March 2F/G Y22 vehicle lifting from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft toward the Tiangong Space Station.

November 25th - Angara 1.2 with unknown payloads

An Angara 1.2 rocket blasted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome heading for low Earth orbit, carrying payloads for military communications.

Liftoff of Angara 1.2 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, via Robert Savitsky on Twitter.

November 26th - KSLV-2 with CAS500-3

South Korea launched its CAS500-3 (Compact Advanced Satellite 500-3) Earth observation technology verification spacecraft into sun-synchronous orbit atop of the first KSLV-2 rocket in two and a half years, flying from the Naro Space Center. Twelve CubeSats were also onboard, from national universities, institutions, and enterprises.

KSLV-2 lifting off from the Naro Space Center carrying thirteen satellites. ©Korea Aerospace Research Institute
KSLV-2 lifting off from the Naro Space Center carrying thirteen satellites. ©Korea Aerospace Research Institute

November 27th - Soyuz 2.1a with MS-28

Out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a Soyuz 2.1a chased down the International Space Station while carrying the MS-28 mission, with cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, as well as NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. The three crew are planned to stay onboard the station for eight months.

Soyuz 2.1a lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the MS-28 mission to the International Space Station. ©Bill Ingalls/NASA
Soyuz 2.1a lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the MS-28 mission to the International Space Station. ©Bill Ingalls/NASA

November 28th - Falcon 9 with Transporter-15

SpaceX performed its fifteenth Transporter rideshare mission to sun-synchronous orbit out of Space Launch Complex 4E with a Falcon 9, carrying 140 satellites from a handful of countries for a variety of different uses. Booster B1071 supported this mission, for its thirtieth flight, with a landing on the drone ship 'Of Couese I Still Love You' downrange.

Falcon 9 lifting off from Space Launch Complex 4E for the Transporter-15 mission. ©SpaceX
Falcon 9 lifting off from Space Launch Complex 4E for the Transporter-15 mission. ©SpaceX

In Other Space News

China to debut three reusable launch vehicles

The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s Long March 12A (left), LandSpace's Zhuque-3 (center), and Space Pioneer's Tianlong-3 (right) on their launch pads at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s Long March 12A (left), LandSpace's Zhuque-3 (center), and Space Pioneer's Tianlong-3 (right) on their launch pads at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

During December, three reusable rockets developed by Chinese space enterprises will take flight for the first time, with one of them becoming China's first as well as the first outside of the United States. The three rockets are:

  • Long March 12A: A two-stage liquid methane and liquid oxygen burning launch vehicle, powered by seven engines on its first-stage and one on its second-stage, developed by the state-owned Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. It stands about 70 meters tall and is 3.8 meters in diameter, with four small strakes next to its four landing legs, used to touchdown after unpowered guidance via four grid fins. The Long March 12A is expected to have a payload capacity of up to 12,000 kilograms.
  • Zhuque-3: Also a two-stage liquid methane and liquid oxygen burning launch vehicle, but powered by nine engines on the first-stage with one on the second-stage, developed by the commercial space leader LandSpace. In its debut flight configuration, it stands approximately 66 meters tall, with a diameter of 4.5 meters. Two strakes are located near the base of the rocket, where four landing legs are attached, while four grid fins are positioned on the inter-stage. Up to 11,800 kilograms can be delivered with the rocket in its current configuration.
  • Tianlong-3: A two-stage rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen burning launch vehicle, with nine engines on the first-stage and one on the second-stage, developed by the commercial space company Space Pioneer. When prepared for launch, it stands 72 meters tall with both stages being 3.8 meters in diameter, with four landing legs at the base and four grid fins on the interstage set to be added. Around 17,000 kilograms can be delivered to orbit with the rocket.

At the moment, all three launch vehicles are at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on dedicated launch pads. The Long March 12A and Tianlong-3 are believed to be conducting pre-launch testing, including potential static fires, while Zhuque-3 completed testing a few months ago.

ESA funding increased for next three years

The European Space Agency and its member states recently concluded their 2025 Ministerial, where a new three-year budget for the space agency was agreed upon. Originally proposed to be 22.25 billion Euros, member states opted to commit 22.1 billion for space science, sovereign launch, security, and a slightly defunded exploration.

Speaking on the budget, European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher stated:

"This is a great success for Europe, and a really important moment for our autonomy and leadership in science and innovation. I’m grateful for the hard work and careful thought that has gone into the delivery of the new subscriptions from the Member States, amounting to a 32% increase, or 17% increase if corrected for inflation, on ESA’s 2022 Ministerial Council," – "In the face of a challenging geopolitical situation all the States contributing to the ESA budget, and indeed the European Commission, have put their faith in ESA to keep delivering programmes that will support European leadership in space, and help stretch our capabilities on Earth, in orbit, and into deep space. While we celebrated 50 years of achievements this year, the work is only beginning."

With the new budget, Germany made the largest contribution at 23.11%, followed by France at 16.42% and Italy at 15.79%. Those three countries account for over 55% of the total. Spain contributes 8.46%, making it the fourth-largest contributor, while the United Kingdom adds 7.78%. Belgium provides 5.06%, and the Netherlands contributes 2.60%. Poland accounts for 3.34%, and Switzerland adds 3.52%. Canada contributes 1.86%, which is higher than several European nations. Austria provides 1.53%, Sweden 1.37%, Norway 1.33%, Denmark 1.16%, Finland 1.06%, and Hungary 0.93%. Portugal and the Czech Republic both contribute around 0.93% and 0.85% respectively. Ireland adds 0.71%, Luxembourg 0.64%, and Greece 0.58%. The smallest contributors include Romania at 0.36%, Estonia at 0.27%, Slovenia at 0.21%, and Slovakia, Lithuania, and Latvia each contributed less than 0.1%.

What to Expect Next Week

November 30th - Long March 7A with an unannounced payload

A Long March 7A is set to fly from the Wenchang Space Launch Site heading for beyond low Earth orbit with a to-be-announced payload.

A Falcon 9 is set to launch from Launch Complex 39A carrying a batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

December 1st - Vega-C with KOMPSAT-7

KOMPSAT-7 (Korean Multi-purpose Satellite 7) is planned to head into a sun-synchronous orbit via a Vega-C flying from the Guiana Space Center, in French Guiana.

Another Falcon 9 is preparing to fly from Space Launch Complex 4E while heading into low Earth orbit to deliver another batch of Starlink satellites.

More Starlink satellites are set to be placed into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 launching from Space Launch Complex 40.

SpaceX is planning to fly Falcon 9 out of Space Launch Complex 4E to put another batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

December 5th - Electron for 'RAISE And Shine'

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is set to head into sun-synchronous orbit carrying the RAISE-4 (RApid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-4) mission for its various on-orbit demonstrations.