Here’s what’s launching from September 15 to September 21: A Blue Origin suborbital research mission, a clandestine NROL launch, and a fleet of SpaceX Starlink deployments.
New Shepard lifts off from Launch Site One in Van Horn, TX, during NS-33 on June 29, 2025. Credit: Blue Origin
- Blue Origin’s NS-35 New Shepard mission, scheduled for Thursday, will conduct a dedicated research flight carrying over 40 payloads, including 24 student experiments from NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge and experiments from universities focusing on in-space technologies.
- Multiple SpaceX Falcon 9 launches are planned throughout the week, including Starlink missions and a launch of the NROL-48 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.
- Other scheduled launches include a CASC Long March 2C/YZ-1S mission from China and a Rocket Lab Electron launch from Virginia in the following week.
- The previous week saw eight launches globally, involving various entities including SpaceX, Roscosmos, and CASC, encompassing both commercial and governmental missions.
Mission Highlight: New Shepard’s research-packed flight
Blue Origin is set to launch its NS-35 New Shepard mission from West Texas on Thursday. The flight is dedicated entirely to science and research, providing several minutes of microgravity for more than 40 payloads.
The manifest includes 24 student-led experiments from NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge, covering topics from space farming to medicine in microgravity. The capsule will also fly experiments from universities and research institutions, testing new technologies for in-space refueling, power generation, and biological imaging. In addition to the scientific hardware, the rocket will carry thousands of postcards from students around the world as part of Blue Origin’s nonprofit initiative, Club for the Future, which aims to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math).
Other missions this week
Monday, September 15: A CASC Long March 2C/YZ-1S rocket is scheduled to launch an unknown payload from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China at 9:05 p.m. EDT.
Wednesday, September 17: A SpaceX Falcon 9 is set to launch the Starlink Group 17-12 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:41 a.m. EDT.
Thursday, September 18: SpaceX is scheduled for an early morning launch of the Starlink Group 10-61 batch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 at 5:30 a.m. EDT.
Sunday, September 21: A doubleheader for SpaceX closes out the week. First, a Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the Starlink Group 10-27 batch from Cape Canaveral at 5:20 a.m. EDT. Later in the day, another Falcon 9 will launch the clandestine NROL-48 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg. That launch is scheduled for 1:37 p.m. EDT, and the first-stage booster will attempt a landing at Vandenberg’s Landing Zone 4.
Last week’s recap
Last week saw eight launches around the globe. The action began Monday with China Aerospace and Technology Corporation (CASC) launching a China Rocket Jielong 3, carrying the Geely Constellation Group 05 and a Long March 7A deploying the Yaogan 45 satellite. On Wednesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the Tranche 1 Transport Layer B mission for the Space Development Agency from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. Thursday was busy with a Roscosmos Soyuz 2.1a rocket launching the Progress MS-32 cargo ship to the ISS from Kazakhstan, followed hours later by a SpaceX Falcon 9 deploying the Nusantara Lima communications satellite from Florida. On Friday, a Russian Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M launched the Cosmos 2595 & 2596 satellites. The week concluded with two Falcon 9 launches: the Starlink Group 17-10 mission from California on Saturday and the NG-23 cargo resupply mission to the ISS for Northrop Grumman on Sunday from Florida.
Looking ahead
Next week, Rocket Lab is scheduled for a suborbital launch of its Electron rocket from Virginia, carrying the JENNA payload on Monday. SpaceX is then targeting Tuesday for the launch of NASA’s IMAP solar observatory mission from Kennedy Space Center. The week is expected to close out with two more SpaceX Starlink missions on Wednesday and Thursday.