Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch first expendable Falcon 9 since January

Date:
Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:22:39 +0000

Description:
SpaceX dominates this weeks launch manifest with up to four missions aboard Falcon 9 vehicles, The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch first expendable Falcon 9 since January appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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SpaceX dominates this weeks launch manifest with up to four missions aboard Falcon 9 vehicles, one of which will be the first expendable mission for the rocket since January, and another carrying 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites for the first time.

There are no other international missions scheduled at the time of
publishing, after the maiden launch of Japans HTV-X cargo supply vehicle was delayed from a planned launch at the start of the week. Persistent bad
weather expected throughout this week at the Tanegashima Space Center has pushed this launch to, at least, the upcoming weekend.



SpaceX reached more milestones last weekend, when booster fleet leader B1067 became the first Falcon 9 booster to fly for the 31st time when it supported Sundays Starlink Group 10-17 mission from Florida. This same mission also launched the 10,000th Starlink satellite into orbit. Starlink satellites are released during Starlink Group 15-5 the 125th mission from Pad 4E (Credit: SpaceX)

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 11-5

The first scheduled Falcon 9 mission of the week is due to launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Liftoff is currently expected halfway into the traditional four-hour launch window at 7:00 AM PDT (14:00 UTC).

Onboard will be a batch of 28 Starlink v2-Mini satellites headed southeast to join the Group 11 shell of the megaconstellation in low-Earth orbit (LEO) at 535 km altitude.

Booster B1075 will be making its 21st flight for this mission and has been in service since its debut in January 2023. In that time, it has launched 17 other Starlink missions in addition to the Transporter 11 rideshare mission, SARah 2 & 3, and the Tranche 0A mission. The booster is expected to land on the deck of the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You , which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

At the start of this week, SpaceX had launched 10,044 Starlink satellites, of which 1,364 have re-entered and 7,455 have reached their operational orbits.



Falcon 9 | SPAINSAT New Generation II

The first Falcon 9 launch of the week from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Liftoff is scheduled for the top of an almost
four-hour window, at 9:30 PM EDT (01:30 UTC on Oct. 23).



Onboard will be the second of two SPAINSAT NG (New Generation) satellites, which replace the current SpainSat and XTAR-EUR communications satellites in geostationary orbit. This second-generation constellation is operator Hisdesats largest project yet, incorporating modern technical advances in communications, adding improved resilience and security. Manufactured by Airbus, the satellites have a roughly 15-year lifespan and improve their predecessors X and Ka military band capacity by 16 times, adding further capacity in the UHF band.

This mission will be supported by booster B1076, on its 22nd and final flight due to the mission needing the full performance of the first stage to reach its geosynchronous transfer orbit. Expending a Falcon 9 booster is rare for SpaceX, which landed its 500th booster for recovery and reuse last week on
the Starlink Group 10-52 mission. This booster will, therefore, fly without the distinctive landing legs and grid fins which are usually required for the vehicles descent and landing. The last expendable mission for SpaceX was for the first SPAINSAT NG mission in late January this year.

Booster B1076 made its debut with the CRS-26 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2022. It went on to launch satellites for the OneWeb, 03b mPOWER, Starlink, and IntelSat constellations in addition to lofting Ovzon 3, Eutelsat 36D, SXM-9, Turksat 6A, and a pair
of WorldView Legion earth observation satellites over its nearly three-year service. Falcon 9 upper stage is reflected in Starlink satellites as they are deployed (Credit: SpaceX)

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 11-12

The second mission to launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base this week will be the 19th for the Group 11 shell, all of which have launched from pad SLC-4E. These missions for the Starlink constellation have launched more notably out of sequence than for other shells, with recent launches including the Group 11-39 mission earlier this month.

Liftoff is expected at the start of the four-hour launch window, which opens at 7:00 AM PDT (14:00 UTC) on Saturday, Oct. 25. The vehicle will fly southeast, carrying a batch of 28 Starlink v2-Mini satellites to LEO.

Booster B1081 will be making its 19th flight, and was introduced into service in August 2023 when it carried Crew-7 to the ISS. This booster supported another trip to the orbiting outpost on its second flight, carrying the
CRS-29 cargo resupply mission. Since then, its manifest has included two Transporter missions, EarthCARE for the European and Japanese space agencies, and NASAs PACE and TRACERS missions, amongst other flights for the Starlink constellation. It is expected to land on the deck of the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You , which will be stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-21

The second Falcon 9 mission to launch from SLC-40 in Florida this week will carry 29 Starlink v2-Mini satellites for the megaconstellations Group 10 shell. This is pushing the limit of satellites carried aboard a single flight even further, which have previously been capped at 28.

Liftoff is scheduled at the start of the four-hour launch window, which opens on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:27 AM EDT (14:27 UTC). Booster B1077 will be making its 24th flight and is expected to land on the deck of the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas downrange in the Atlantic Ocean, northeast of the Cape.

This booster was first introduced into service just over three years ago in early October 2022, when it carried Crew-5 to the ISS. This booster also supported the CRS-28 and NG-20 cargo resupply missions to the Station, in addition to missions for Inmarsat, Starlink, GPS III, Intelsats Galaxy 37,
and numerous Starlink launches. Starlink satellites are released during Starlink Group 15-5 mission (Credit: SpaceX)

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 11-21

An additional Starlink mission is scheduled to launch from SLC-4E at the Vandenberg Space Force Base on Monday, Oct. 27. Another batch of 28 Starlink v2-Mini satellites will be onboard. Liftoff is expected at the top of a four-hour launch window, which opens at 2:12 PM PDT (21:12 UTC).

Booster B1082 will be taking its 17th flight and is expected to land on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You approximately eight minutes into the mission in the Pacific Ocean. The booster has been in service since early January 2024 and has predominantly launched Starlink missions, along with the OneWeb 20, USSF-62, and NROL-145 missions.

(Lead image: Launch first timers watch the Kuiper KF-03 mission from SLC-40 last week Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch first expendable Falcon 9 since January appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/10/launch-roundup-20252010/


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