Launch Preview: three launches a calm before the storm?

Date:
Mon, 04 May 2026 18:45:36 +0000

Description:
Two Falcon 9 launches and a Chang Zheng 7 make up the launch roster for The post Launch Preview: three launches a calm before the storm? appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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

Two Falcon 9 launches and a Chang Zheng 7 make up the launch roster for the week commencing Monday, May 4, 2026. SpaceX will use its launches to place a further 48 Starlink satellites into Group 17 of the huge constellation of
over 7,000 satellites. Chinas single flight is a cargo supply mission to the countrys Tiangong space station.



One possible reason for the slowdown in Falcon 9 launches is that SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 cargo mission (CRS-34) to the International Space Station. These preparations tie up SpaceXs most frequently used pad Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida while the spacecraft is prepared, during which crews have access to the Cargo Dragon via the launch towers crew access arm. This mission is currently due on May 12.

May 12 has also recently been indicated as the target launch date for
Starship Flight 12 from Starbase in Texas the first flight of version 3 of both Super Heavy and Starship. Full coverage of this event can be found throughout NSFs website and social media.



Back in Florida, SpaceXs launchpad at Space Launch Complex 39A is still configured for last weeks launch of ViaSat-3 atop Falcon Heavy. In recent months, the company has reduced the pads launch cadence to allow work to continue on the adjacent Starship facilities.

SpaceX has launched 52 Falcon 9 missions in the first four months of 2026, suggesting that approximately 156 missions will be achieved this year if this launch cadence is maintained, compared with 2025, when 165 missions were flown.

Future launch highlights also include the SMILE mission launching on an European Space Agency Vega C rocket from French Guiana, another Atlas V
launch for Amazons LEO constellation, and the next Isar Spectrum launch.
These launches are all currently scheduled for later in May.

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-29

A SpaceX Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. The missions four-hour launch window opens on Tuesday, May 5, at 7:00 PM PDT (Wednesday, 02:00 UTC).

The mission will launch on a southwestern trajectory to deliver 24 Starlink
v2 Mini satellites into a 97.29-degree-inclination Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). A Falcon 9 on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-4E on Vandenberg Space Force Base. (Credit: SpaceX)

The Falcon 9 booster supporting this mission will be B1081, flying for the 24th time. The booster will land atop the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You , stationed approximately 640 km downrange of the launch site, in the Pacific Ocean.

B1081 has previously supported the Crew-7 mission, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter 10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter 13, TRACERS and Others, NROL-48, CSG-3, and 13 Starlink missions. The booster undertook its first mission on
September 26, 2023.

Falcon 9 is a 3.9 m diameter, 70 m tall two-stage rocket. Nine Merlin 1D engines power the first stage booster, while the expendable second stage utilizes a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy were the first orbital rockets to achieve regular reuse, with a Falcon
booster having recently flown 34 flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flight.

This mission will represent the 54th Falcon 9 mission of 2026, and the 637th overall. It will also mark the 626th recovery attempt of a Falcon vehicle. This will be the 34th mission for Starlink Group 17, which first launched on May 27, 2025.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-37

On Saturday, May 9, at 7:00 AM PDT (14:00 UTC), SpaceX will launch a second Falcon 9 from the SLC-4E pad at VSFB in Califorinia. A further 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites for the constellations Group 17 will be placed into SSO. This mission also has a four-hour launch window available.

Many of the previous Group 17 missions carried 25 payloads; however, since 17-36 flew last week, the payload has been reduced by one. It is unclear why SpaceX made this change, but it could indicate a requirement for Falcon 9 to provide a higher initial orbit for these missions. The additional fuel required to achieve a higher orbit would result in a reduced payload
capacity.

The nearly-new booster B1103 will undertake its second mission, having recently supported the Starlink Group 17-35 mission.

Falcon 9 will follow a very similar launch profile to the prior mission, with the booster landing aboard the droneship Of Course I Still Love You . The droneship will deliver the booster at the nearby port of Long Beach, where
the booster will be transferred onto another barge before being returned to Vandenberg.

This mission will mark the 28th Falcon 9 mission launched from SLC-4E this year, and the 107th orbital launch attempt worldwide in 2026. Chang Zheng 7 with Tianzhou 8 aboard rolls to the pad at Wenchang (Credit: CMSA)

Chang Zheng 7 | Tianzhou 10

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), a Chinese Government Agency, will launch a Chang Zheng 7 (CZ-7), also known internationally as a Long March 7, on Saturday, May 9, at 22:00 UTC. The missions four-hour launch window opens at 22:00 UTC.

Launching from Launch Complex 201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China, the rocket will carry Tianzhou 10, an automated cargo spacecraft derived from the original Tiangong-1 space station. The vehicle will deliver cargo to the countrys current Tiangong space station.

Standing 53.1 m tall, the CZ-7 has two stages, with the first stage featuring four strap-on boosters. The two stages and the four boosters all use liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants. CZ-7 has been active since 2017 and has flown
ten times to date.

(Lead image: Falcon Heavy lifts off with ViaSat-3. Credit: Max Evans for
NSF)



The post Launch Preview: three launches a calm before the storm? appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/05/launch-preview-050426/


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