Launch Roundup: Russian and European science missions launched during busy week
Seven launches took place this week. Four of these are Falcon 9s, with SpaceX launching two customer missions and two Starlink missions. Internationally, Russia and Europe have both launched science payloads, while, in Australia, Gilmour Space intended to attempt to launch its Eris rocket once again, but has delayed again, into next week. In China, a Chang Zheng 6A launched on Sunday.
Two satellites for the SES-owned O3b Networks, mPOWER 9 and mPOWER 10, launched on their second launch opportunity on Tuesday, July 22 at 5:27 PM EDT (21:27 UTC), the weather having improved sufficiently to allow the mission to liftoff on schedule. The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.
The first attempt for launch was scheduled on Monday, July 21, at 5:27 PM EDT (21:27 UTC). This launch was scrubbed late in the countdown for as yet unspecified reasons, although the weather conditions were a watch item for this launch.
LAUNCH! Falcon 9 beats the weather at the Cape!https://t.co/tl2SdwcfpGpic.twitter.com/yCQ9pY6Zzs
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight)July 22, 2025
Flying due east, Falcon 9 carried two communications satellites, which comprise a total payload mass of 3,400 kg, into medium-Earth Orbit. The booster for this flight, B1090, landed onJust Read The Instructions, one of SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport droneships, downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.
Falcon 9 is a 3.9 m diameter, 70 m tall two-stage rocket. The first stage booster is powered by nine Merlin 1D engines, while the second stage utilizes a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are the first and only reusable orbital rockets in service today, with one Falcon booster having flown 29 flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flight.
Booster B1090 was flying for the sixth time, having previously flown O3b mPOWER 7 & 8, Crew-10, Bandwagon-3, Starlink Group 6-67, and Starlink Group 10-18. Its first flight was on December 17, 2024.
A NASA science mission launched on a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. TheTandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission is comprised of two satellites, each 400 kg in mass, that flew to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) along with at least three other rideshare payloads.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the@NASA TRACERS mission to orbit from Californiahttps://t.co/uE6BApfcvy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX)July 23, 2025
Liftoff was planned for Tuesday, July 22, at 11:13 AM PDT (18:13 UTC). The booster, B1081, was expected to perform a return-to-launch-site landing following launch and land at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4), which is located directly adjacent to SLC-4E. The countdown was held in theclosing moments due to “FAA airspace concerns” that created a no go condition.
The launch was rescheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at 11:13 PM PDT (18:13 UTC) and was successful.
The twin TRACERS satellites will operate in tandem, helping to understand magnetic reconnection and its effect on the Earth’s atmosphere. The other payloads include Bard, an advanced communications demonstration device; Athena EPIC, a technology demonstrator; and REAL, which will study the loss of particles from the Earth’s Van Allen belts.
This mission was the 90th Falcon 9 mission of 2025.
The booster supporting this flight is B1081, flying for the sixteenth time. The booster previously flew Crew-7, CRS-29, Starlink Group 6-34, PACE, Transporter 10, Starlink Group 8-1, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Starlink Group 9-5, Starlink Group 9-10, Starlink Group 9-14, Transporter 13, Starlink Group 15-3, and Starlink Group 15-6. Its first flight was on September 26, 2023.
A Soyuz-2-1b rocket lifts off from Vostochny spaceport:
Mission details:https://t.co/1LMXQkJfA5pic.twitter.com/K1Vl28Ohom— Anatoly Zak (@RussianSpaceWeb)July 25, 2025
Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M | Ionosfera-M 3 & 4
A Soyuz 2.1b launched a pair of Ionosfera-M satellites from Site 1S at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Friday, July 25, at 05:54 UTC. Flying northwest, Soyuz placed the payloads into SSO at an altitude of approximately 800 km.
Ionosfera-M 3 and Ionosfera-M 4 are the second pair of satellites to be launched to the Ionosfera constellation and will complete the constellation, which will be comprised of four Ionosfera satellites. The constellation aims to observe the Earth’s ionosphere and enhance our understanding of geomagnetic and solar storms, as well as their impact on the Earth. The mission also carried 17 cubesats held in five containers onboard the Fregat-M upper stage.
The Soyuz 2 rocket has two major variants: Soyuz 2.1a, which serves as the base version, and Soyuz 2.1b, which utilizes a more powerful third stage. Soyuz 2.1b is powered by four RD-107A engines on the first stage (arranged around the second, core stage), a single RD-108A engine on the core stage, and an RD-0124 engine on the third stage. Each stage uses liquid oxygen and liquid kerosene (RP-1) as propellants.
LAUNCH! Vega C’s second mission of 2025 launches from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.
Five payloads will be delivered to SSO, with Vega C flying directly north from the launch site.
Overview:https://t.co/DqZaVohB2V
Arianespace Live:https://t.co/hNLvJ7sK5Wpic.twitter.com/SBmQ1cmT8h
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight)July 26, 2025
Vega C’s second mission of 2025 launched from the Vega Launch Complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on Saturday, July 26, at 02:03 UTC.
Five payloads were delivered to SSO, with Vega C flying directly north from the launch site. MicroCarb is a microsatellite based on the Myriade spacecraft bus from the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) and masses only 180 kg. The onboard dispersive spectrometer instrument will measure carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with high precision. The additional four satellites, built by Airbus, will provide stereo imagery of the Earth’s landmass for CNES.
Vega C is an expendable launch system jointly developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It is operated by Arianespace.
The rocket, named after the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, features three solid rocket stages: the P80 first stage, the Zefiro 23 second stage, and the Zefiro 9 third stage. The fourth stage is comprised of the Attitude & Vernier Upper Module (AVUM) liquid stage. Italy is the leading contributor to the Vega program (65%), followed by France (13%). Other participants include Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-26
SpaceX’s busiest launch pad, SLC-40 at CCSFS, hosted a further Falcon 9 launch on Saturday, July 26, at 5:01 AM EDT (09:01 UTC). The teams at SLC-40 are now regularly completing pad turnarounds in a remarkably short time, with this launch now coming three days, 11 hours, and 49 minutes after the launch of O3b mPOWER 9 & 10, which was delayed and caused a knock-on effect to this schedule.
Falcon 9 flew northeast out of the Cape to place the Starlink payloads into low-Earth orbit. Starlink Group 10-26 added a batch of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to the constellation’s Group 10 shell, which is at an orbital inclination of 53.16 degrees.
The booster supporting this flight is B1078, flying for its 22nd time, having previously flown Crew-6, O3b mPower 3 & 4, Starlink Group 6-4, Starlink Group 6-8, Starlink Group 6-16, Starlink Group 6-31, USSF-124, Starlink Group 6-46, Starlink Group 6-53, Starlink Group 6-60, Starlink Group 10.2, Starlink Group 10-6, Bluebird-1, Starlink Group 10-13, Starlink Group 6-76, Starlink Group 12-6, Starlink Group 12-9, Starlink Group 12-16, Starlink Group 6-72, Starlink Group 6-84, and Starlink Group 12-26. Its first flight was on March 2, 2023.
After the flight, the booster landed on the drone shipA Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed downrange in Atlantic Ocean, due Northeast of the launchpad.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-2
A fourth Falcon 9 launch for the week flew from SLC-4E at VSFB on Saturday, July 26, at 9:31 PM PDT (Sunday, July 27, at 04:31 UTC).
Starlink Group 17-2 was the third launch for Group 17, the Starlink constellation’s polar shell, and launched due south from Vandenberg SFB with 24 Starlink satellites aboard.
The booster, B1075, landed downrange on the west coast droneshipOf Course I Still Love You, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 150th landing attempt on this droneship.
The booster was making its 19th flight, having previously supported Starlink Group 2-4, Transport and Tracking Tranche 0 1, Starlink Group 2-9, Starlink Group 5-7, Starlink Group 6-20, Starlink Group 7-3, Starlink Group 7-6, Sarah 2 & 3, Starlink Group 7-12, Starlink Group 7-16 & USA 350/351, Starlink Group 9-2, Transporter 11, Starlink Group 9-17, Starlink Group 9-9, Starlink Group 9-13, Starlink Group 11-3, Starlink Group 11-4, and Starlink Group 11-16. Its first flight was on January 19, 2023.
Chang Zheng 6A | Unknown Payload
A launch took place in China as a Chang Zheng 6A (CZ-6A) lifted off from LC-9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China on Sunday, July 27, at 10:04 UTC.
The payload was five communications satellites for the SatNet constellation. Warning notices for the launch indicated that it would fly due South.
The Chang Zheng (CZ) 6A rocket consists of two stages with four additional strap-on engines. A 4.2 m diameter, 57m high fairing sits atop the second stage, giving the vehicle a 50 m height.
Due to still unsuitable weather, Gilmour Space will now make its third attempt at launching its Eris rocket on Monday, July 23, at 21:30 UTC. Gilmour’s second attempt at the maiden launch of its Eris small satellite rocket was scheduled for July 16, but was delayed due to operational issues and unfavorable upper wind forecasts.
The company stood down from itsfirst attempt, which was scheduled for May 16, after the fairings were prematurely triggered by the separation system during overnight launch preparations. An unexpected power surge from other devices downstream had caused the vehicle to shut down, causing the issue, which has since been mitigated.
The launch will take place from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport at Abbot Point, north of the coastal town of Bowen. As the emblem on the rocket body proudly declares, the three-stage launcher is “Australian-made.” TestFlight 1 is poised to become the first orbital launch from Australian soil performed by a sovereign-built vehicle.
Eris stands vertical against a scenic sky. (Credit: Gilmour Space)
Comparable to Rocket Lab’s Electron, Eris stands a little taller at 25 m in height. The vehicle also features a slightly larger 1.5 m fairing and boasts a payload mass of up to 215 kg for a 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit, or 305 kg for equatorial orbits between 500 km and 1,000 km. The first stage is propelled by four Sirius engines, a proprietary hybrid engine that utilizes a 3D-printed solid fuel grain and hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizer. A single Sirius engine powers the second stage. A successful orbital launch would also be the first for a hybrid rocket design.
Gilmour Space recently announced a new partnership with Tokyo-based Space BD, which will see Gilmour Space provide dedicated and rideshare opportunities aboard its Eris rocket and ElaraSat platform for Japanese and global satellite customers.
(Lead image: A Falcon 9 launches a previous mPOWER mission for SES. Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
