Launch Preview: Falcon Heavy returns, Atlas V and Ariane 6 to launch Amazon Leo satellites

Date:
Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:21:29 +0000

Description:
Six launches are expected from Florida, California, and French Guiana this week, with SpaceX scheduled The post Launch Preview: Falcon Heavy returns, Atlas V and Ariane 6 to launch Amazon Leo satellites appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Six launches are expected from Florida, California, and French Guiana this week, with SpaceX scheduled to launch its Falcon Heavy vehicle for the first time since October 2024. Meanwhile, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Ariane 6 are all expected to launch internet satellites for the Starlink and Amazon Leo constellations, and Falcon 9 will close out the week with a rideshare
mission.



Falcon Heavy | ViaSat-3 F3

SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, April 29. The 85-minute launch window opens at 10:13 AM EDT (2:21 PM UTC). The missions first launch attempt on Monday was scrubbed due to weather conditions.

Falcon Heavy will fly an eastward trajectory into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The two side boosters will perform return-to-launch-site (RTLS) landings while the center core booster will be expended.

Booster B1075, on its 22nd flight, will land at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2), while booster B1072, on its second flight, will land at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40).
The Falcon Heavys three-booster configuration can deliver 26,700 kg to GTO
and 63,800 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Each booster is powered by nine
Merlin 1D engines, fueled by kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The vehicles upper stage uses a single Merlin 1D Vacuum engine, which also utilizes RP-1 and LOX as its propellants.



Falcon Heavys payload for the mission is the final Ka-band satellite in the ViaSat-3 constellation. ViaSats broadband constellation will provide 100+ megabits per second broadband speeds to households across America, Europe,
the Middle East, and Asia.

The 6,400 kg satellite for the mission will cover the Asian and Pacific regions. Falcon Heavy and Atlas V delivered the first two satellites to orbit in May 2023 and November 2025, respectively. The mission will mark the 12th Falcon Heavy flight overall and the first since the launch of NASAs Europa Clipper mission in October 2024.

Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-06)

The second launch of the week is expected from Florida, with the United
Launch Alliance (ULA) set to launch its Atlas V vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The 29-minute launch window opens on Monday, April 27, at 8:52 PM EDT (00:52
UTC).

Atlas V is an expendable launch vehicle with an RD-180 engine on its first stage, fueled by kerosene and LOX. The Centaur upper stage is powered by two RL10 engines, fueled by liquid hydrogen and LOX. The Atlas V 551 variant has five Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM-63) solid rocket boosters (SRBs), each capable of generating 1,649 kN of thrust at liftoff.

Atlas V will loft 29 internet satellites, with a combined mass of 16,800 kg, for the Amazon Leo constellation. The payloads will be deployed at an
altitude of 450 km by the Centaur upper stage, after which the satellites Hall-effect thrusters, utilizing electric ion propulsion, will raise them to an operational altitude of 630 km. The vehicle will launch on a northeasterly trajectory into an initial LEO with a 51.9-degree inclination.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-36

The first of two Starlink missions this week is scheduled for Wednesday,
April 29, from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The four-hour launch window opens at 7:00 PM PDT (02:00 UTC).

Falcon 9 will launch 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites on a southerly trajectory into a 97.61-degree near-polar Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). The first-stage booster, B1071, will be flying on its 33rd flight and will be recovered downrange in the Pacific Ocean on SpaceXs autonomous drone ship Of Course I Still Love You . The booster last flew the Starlink Group 17-31 mission on March 13, with a 47-day turnaround.

Ariane 64 | Amazon Leo (LE-02)

Arianespace is expected to launch its Ariane 6 vehicle from the Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 4 (ELA-4) pad at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana on Thursday, April 30, with the 48-minute launch window beginning at 08:51 UTC. Ariane 6 will deliver 32 Amazon Leo satellites to LEO.

The satellites will launch on a northeasterly trajectory, with the Upper Liquid Propulsion Module (ULPS) carrying them to an altitude of 450 km. The vehicles first stage, the Lower Liquid Propulsion Module, features a single Vulcain 2.1 engine powered by liquid hydrogen and LOX. The Ariane 64 variant has four strap-on P120C SRBs developed by Arianespace and Avio. The P120C
SRBs are the largest and most powerful single-piece solid-rocket motors ever developed and are also used on Avios Vega C rocket.

This will be Ariane 6s second launch of the year and seventh in total.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-38

The second Starlink mission of the week, Starlink Group 10-38, is scheduled
to launch on Friday, May 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with a four-hour launch window opening at 1:33 PM EDT (17:33 UTC). Falcon 9 will launch 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites on a northeasterly trajectory into LEO.

The first-stage booster, B1069, will be flying on its 31st mission, having previously supported 27 Starlink missions and a commercial resupply mission
to the International Space Station. SpaceXs east coast droneship, A Shortfall of Gravitas , will recover the booster downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.

Falcon 9 | CAS500-2 & Others

The final mission of the week is CAS500-2 & Others, scheduled to launch
aboard a Falcon 9 on Saturday, May 2. The rocket will launch from SLC-4E at Vandenberg, with the 37-minute launch window opening at 11:59 PM PDT (May 3
at 06:59 AM UTC)

Falcon 9 will loft 46 payloads on a southerly trajectory into SSO. The first-stage booster, B1071, will land at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4), located directly adjacent to SLC-4E.

The payloads include the Compact Advanced Satellite 500 (CAS500), a South Korean Earth-observation satellite, and 45 small satellites as part of
SpaceXs smallsat rideshare program. The mission will be SpaceXs 636th Falcon
9 mission and its 625th recovery attempt to date.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Florida. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



The post Launch Preview: Falcon Heavy returns, Atlas V and Ariane 6 to launch Amazon Leo satellites appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/04/launch-preview-042726/


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