Overview
- SpaceX plans Starlink Group 17-52 from Vandenberg around July 28 and Group 17-53 around Aug. 1, each to carry roughly two dozen Starlink v2 mini satellites and to attempt booster recoveries on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You.
- Trackers report one Vandenberg flight will use booster B1081 at about its 25th flight, a sign of Falcon 9 reusability maturing though exact flight counts vary between trackers.
- The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office has a classified NROL-95 mission set for July 30 from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9, with booster B1096 expected to perform a return-to-launch-site landing.
- China’s launch manifest includes a Long March 7A from Wenchang and a Long March 6A from Taiyuan on July 29, both listed with undisclosed payloads and adding to a crowded week of global launches.
- SpaceX’s recent Starship ‘Lucky 13’ test on July 24 successfully fired all 33 Super Heavy Raptors, deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites, and ended with planned splashdowns, underscoring parallel efforts to increase launch capacity even as schedules remain provisional.