Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch five Falcon 9 missions this week
Date:
Wed, 03 Sep 2025 12:11:54 +0000
Description:
Five Falcon 9 launches make up the launch manifest for this week. Collectively, four of The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch five Falcon 9 missions this week appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .
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Five Falcon 9 launches make up the launch manifest for this week. Collectively, four of them will add over 100 satellites to SpaceXs Starlink constellation, and one will transport a single Indonesian telecommunications satellite into orbit.
China is now expected to launch three missions before the end of the week.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-8
The first of SpaceXs five scheduled Falcon 9 missions for this week, Starlink Group 17-8, launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 8:51 PM PDT (03:51 UTC on Wednesday, Sept. 3).
A new booster, B1097, supported this mission. After completing its maiden launch, B1097 landed atop SpaceXs west coast droneship, Of Course I Still
Love You , stationed approximately 640 km downrange in the Pacific Ocean. The booster will be returned for reuse on future missions.
The payload consisted of 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched due south to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). LAUNCH! Brand New SpaceX Falcon 9 B1097-1 launches Starlink Group 17-8 from SLC-4E, Vandenberg.
Overview:
https://t.co/GacQptdFxb
Live:
https://t.co/h9wgyX3Hk3 pic.twitter.com/U8ocyWJrmu
NSF NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) September 3, 2025
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 recently flown 30 flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flight.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-22
Later, on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 7:56 AM EDT (11:56 UTC), another Starlink mission Group 10-22 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.
Falcon 9 booster B1083 will be supporting the mission and making its 14th flight, having previously supported Crew-8, Starlink Group 6-48, Starlink Group 6-56, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Starlink Group 6-65, Astranis: From One to Many, Starlink Group 13-1, NOVA-C IM-2, Starlink Group 12-17, Starlink Group 6-91, Starlink Group 12-24, and Dror-1.
One of SpaceXs east coast droneships, A Shortfall of Gravitas, will be stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean to support the booster landing following launch.
Falcon 9s payload will consist of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched northeast to a low Earth orbit (LEO).
Chang Zheng 3C/YZ-1 | Unknown Payload
A Chang Zheng 3C rocket will launch on Friday, Sept. 5, at 02:35 UTC from
LC-2 at Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China.
While details regarding the launch vehicle and payload remain uncertain, it
is expected that the mission will fly due east from the launch site.
The Chang Zheng 3C rocket has four stages, and stands at a height of 55.64 m. The 4.2 m diameter fairing is 9.78 m high. The YZ-1 designation applies to
the optional fourth stage being used on this mission.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-57
Completing a cycle of launches from all three Falcon 9 pads, the Starlink Group 10-57 mission is expected to launch on Friday, Sept. 5, at 7:06 AM EDT (11:06 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After ascent and stage separation, the booster supporting this mission,
B1069, will land atop SpaceXs other east coast droneship Just Read the Instructions .
B1069 will be making its 27th flight having previously flown missions CRS-24, Starlink Group 4-23, Hotbird 13F, OneWeb #15, Starlink Group 5-3, SES-18 & SES-19, Starlink Group 5-6, Starlink Group 5-12, Starlink Group 6-9, Starlink Group 6-19, Starlink Group 6-28, Starlink Group 6-36, Starlink Group 6-39, Starlink Group 6-47, Starlink Group 6-57, Starlink Group 10-1, Starlink Group 10-9, Starlink Group 8-10, Starlink Group 10-8, Starlink Group 6-66, Starlink Group 12-3, Starlink Group 12-21, Starlink Group 6-74, Starlink Group 12-22, Starlink Group 10-23, and Starlink Group 10-29.
The payload will consist of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched on a northeasterly trajectory toward LEO.
If the current schedule is maintained, this mission will mark the 200th orbital launch attempt of 2025 worldwide.
Gushenxing-1 | Unknown Payload
The second Chinese mission scheduled for Friday, Sept. 5 is a Gushenxing-1 (Ceres-1) rocket, launching from Site 94A at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. Launch is expected at 11:35 UTC, and the flight trajectory will be due south. This mission will mark the fifth for Gushenxing-1 in 2025.
Once again, details of the launch vehicle and payload remain uncertain.
The four-stage Gushenxing-1, with three solid-fueled stages and a single liquid-fueled upper stage, is capable of flying up to 300 kg into a 500 km altitude SSO. The rocket stands at a height of 19 m, and utilises a fairing
of 1.4 m diameter and 2.5 m height.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-9
The weeks fourth and final Starlink mission, Group 17-9, will be launched on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8:42 AM PDT (15:42 UTC) from SLC-4E at VSFB.
The mission will add a further 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to the Group 17 polar shell, with Falcon 9 delivering the payloads to SSO.
Booster B1075 will make its 20th flight in support of this mission, having previously flown missions 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, Starlink Group 11-16, and Starlink Group 17-2.
B1075s landing and recovery will be supported by SpaceXs west coast droneship Of Course I Still Love You , which will be stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean.
Chang Zheng 6A | Unknown Payload
The third Chinese mission in two days, the details of the launch vehicle and payload remain uncertain, but the rocket is expected to be a Chang Zheng 6A.
Scheduled to launch from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China on
Saturday, Sept. 6, at 16:35 UTC, the rocket is expected to fly due south.
The Chang Zheng 6A rocket consists of two stages with four additional
strap-on engines. A 4.2 m diameter, 57 m high fairing sits atop the second stage, giving the vehicle a 50 m height.
Falcon 9 | Nusantara 5 (Lima)
This weeks only customer Falcon 9 launch is now scheduled for Monday, Sept.
8, at 7:52 PM EDT (23:52 UTC). The Nusantara 5 mission will place an Indonesian high-throughput telecommunications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite is being launched to replace an earlier version that failed to reach the required orbit following launch aboard a Chinese Chang Zheng 3B rocket in 2020.
A currently unannounced Falcon 9 booster will launch from SLC-40 at CCSFS in Florida and will fly due east.
(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Florida. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF
)
The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch five Falcon 9 missions this week appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .
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Link to news story:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/09/launch-roundup-090125/
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