South Korea, China and the United States are preparing to launch satellites this week in a sequence that spans three space programs and several distinct mission profiles, from military communications to disaster monitoring and broadband internet.
SpaceX is now targeting no earlier than Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 1:17 a.m. PDT for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, after an early Monday attempt was halted just after the T-1:00 minute mark as the vehicle entered startup. No reason was given for the scrub, but SpaceX said the vehicle and payload are healthy. The launch window is instantaneous.
The payload, developed by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Space Force's Space Development Agency, is part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture constellation, which is designed to provide low-latency data connections for armed forces worldwide. The mission will carry 21 satellites. Booster B1103, flying its sixth mission, will take a southerly trajectory to place the satellites in a polar orbit before returning to Landing Zone 4 next to Space Launch Complex 4E. The booster has previously flown two other Starlink missions as well as the NROL-179 and Tranche 1 Transport Layer E missions. The flight is the 111th Falcon 9 mission of 2026.
Next, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute plans to launch its KSLV-2 rocket from Launch Complex 2 at the Naro Space Center on South Korea's southern coast on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 03:23 UTC, with the window closing at 04:23 UTC. The three-stage KSLV-2, also known as Nuri F5 and measuring more than 47 meters in height, will follow a southward trajectory suitable for Sun-synchronous orbit.
The rocket will carry five satellites for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's NeonSat constellation along with 10 rideshare payloads, deploying 15 satellites in total, a record for the KSLV-2. The NeonSat constellation is intended for real-time, high-frequency disaster monitoring of the Korean Peninsula and surrounding maritime areas. Each 100-kilogram satellite carries optical systems capable of up to one-meter resolution in black and white or four-meter resolution in color.
The 10 cubesats come from South Korean universities, companies and local governments, with applications ranging from ionosphere research and hyperspectral imaging to monitoring marine debris, space debris, space weather and fine dust, as well as technology development. This is the first and likely only KSLV-2 flight of 2026, the fifth overall mission for the launcher and KARI's eighth mission overall. The next KSLV-2 flight, carrying NeonSat 7 through 11, is scheduled for no earlier than 2027.
China is scheduled to launch a Chang Zheng 12 on Friday, Oct. 9, at 19:25 UTC, with the window ending at 19:49 UTC, from Commercial Launch Complex 2 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island. The two-stage, 59-meter-tall CZ-12 is a medium-lift launcher using liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants and will follow a southeast trajectory after liftoff.
The payload is not known with certainty, but all of this year's CZ-12 flights from Wenchang have launched SatNet low-Earth orbit broadband communications satellites. These satellites, known as Xingwang Digui, are for the Guowang constellation, China's competitor to SpaceX's Starlink. The flight is the fifth CZ-12 mission of the year. The CZ-12 family consists of the base CZ-12 plus the CZ-12A and CZ-12B developments, with the latter two planned to support partial reuse in the future.
The week's final scheduled launch is a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying Starlink Group 15-25. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, at 4:00 p.m. PDT, with the window lasting until 8:00 p.m. PDT. Booster B1088, flying for the 20th time, will take a southeast trajectory and land atop SpaceX's autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific.
The mission will carry 27 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a low-Earth orbit inclined at 70.01 degrees to the equator. The booster's career began with the NROL-126 mission and has also flown the Transporter 12, SPHEREx & PUNCH, NROL-57 and USSF-366 missions, along with 14 Starlink flights to date. The flight is the 112th Falcon 9 mission of 2026 as SpaceX begins a slow winding down of Falcon 9 operations. Starship began operational Starlink v3 deployments during Flight 14 on Sept. 28.
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