After a week of weather delays across the U.S, launch cadence increases as providers strive to catch up with the backlog.
An Ariane 6 carrying a weather satellite launched ahead of a navigational technology satellite and a classified payload launched atop Vulcan. A Chinese Chang Zheng 5B rocket also launched on Wednesday.
Three Falcon 9 Starlink missions launched during the week.
A further three missions launched from China this week although one of them suffered an anomaly in flight and has been declared a failure.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) second Ariane 62 mission of 2025 launched from Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 6 (ELA-4) at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on Wednesday, Aug. 13, at 00:37:50 UTC.
LAUNCH! Ariane 6 launches MetOp-SG-A1 and Copernicus Sentinal-5A.
Live, alongside Vulcan, which is just minutes later.https://t.co/AUeCdfOcFi
Overview:https://t.co/XzYZo6NAtv pic.twitter.com/JIJTg7DZBw
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 13, 2025
The payload for this mission was the MetOp-SG-A1 satellite, operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European operational satellite agency responsible for monitoring weather, climate, and the environment from space.
The 4,040 kg mass satellite is part of the EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation (EPS-SG) programme. MetOp-SG-A1 will observe weather and climate from a polar orbit, providing high-resolution observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, pollution, soil moisture, volcanic dust, and a multitude of other parameters.
The MetOp-SG-A1 satellite is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. The partner for this satellite, MetOp-SG-1B, will launch next year and will carry a complementary set of instruments.
In addition to its core instruments scanning the Earth from low Earth orbit (LEO), the MetOp-SG-A1 satellite is also carrying the Sentinel-5 payload, an instrument part of Copernicus – the EU Earth observation programme. The Sentinel-5 mission is a high-resolution spectrometer system operating in the ultraviolet to shortwave infrared range. This system enables the monitoring of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, and other trace gases, – data supporting global air quality and pollution monitoring and climate applications.
The Ariane 6 flying this mission is of the ‘62’ variant, meaning two strap-on solid rocket boosters will be attached to the 5.4 m diameter core stage. (The ‘64’ variant will fly with four such boosters). Ariane 6 utilizes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are burned through the first stage Vulcain 2.1 engine and the second stage Vinci engine. The 62 m tall rocket flew for the first time on July 9, 2024.
LAUNCH! ULA Vulcan VS4S Launches USSF-106 from SLC-41.
Overview:https://t.co/XzYZo6NAtv
Live:https://t.co/AUeCdfOcFi pic.twitter.com/f9q4nYNGiF
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 13, 2025
Vulcan VC4S | USSF-106 (NTS-3 & Others)
Vulcan’s first mission of 2025 launched on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 8:56 PM EDT (Wednesday, 00:56 UTC), following a delay caused by a ground support issue. The United States Space Force 106 (USSF-106) and NTS-3 payloads will be delivered into geosynchronous orbit from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at the CCSFS in Florida.
NTS-3 is a technology demonstration navigation satellite with an experimental signal generator that is designed to be reprogrammed on-orbit to improve performance, overcome interference, and defend from countermeasure attacks. A classified payload for the USSF will also be launched on this mission.
Vulcan is ULA’s expendable heavy-lift rocket with twin BE-4 main engines and, in this mission’s VC4S configuration, four side-mounted GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters. Standing at 61.6 m in height and 5.4 m in diameter, the two-stage rocket can lift 11,693 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The Vulcan rocket deployed the USSF-106 mission directly to geosynchronous (GEO) orbit using the high-performance Centaur V upper stage.
This will be Vulcan’s first mission of 2025, and its third mission in total. This will also be ULA’s third mission of 2025.
Chang Zheng 5B/YV-2 | SatNet LEO Group 08
A Chinese Chang Zheng, or Long March, 5B (CZ-5B) rocket launched from Launch Complex 101 at Wenchang Space Launch Site in China on Wednesday, Aug. 13, at 06:43 UTC.
The rocket flew south to deliver a batch of communications satellites into LEO. The payload was confirmed to be part of a Group 08 of the constellation of 13,000 satellites that SatNet is constructing.
The CZ-5B is a 53.66 m high rocket with two stages. The first stage utilizes four strap-on solid rocket motors. The CZ-5 is primarily used for heavy-lift payloads and was extensively launched during the construction of the Tiangong Space Station.
LAUNCH! Falcon 9 B1093-5 launches Starlink Group 17-4 from SLC-4E, Vandenberg.
Overview:https://t.co/XzYZo6N2DX https://t.co/UdqilTWjHD pic.twitter.com/qwHcGZfGE2
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 14, 2025
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-4
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched on Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 10:05 PM PDT (Thursday, 05:05 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. The fourth batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink constellation’s polar shell flew due south to be delivered into Sun-synchronous orbit.
After the launch and stage separation, booster B1093 landed successfully on SpaceX’s west coast droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which was stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean.
B1093, which was making its fifth flight, was first flown on April 7, 2025, on the Starlink Group 11-11 mission. The booster has also supported the Starlink Group 15-5, Starlink Group 15-9, and Starlink Group 15-2 missions.
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 flown 29 flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flight.
LAUNCH! Falcon 9 B1085-10 launches Starlink Group 10-20 from SLC-40.
Overview:https://t.co/XzYZo6N2DX
Live on X and YT:https://t.co/jENapJbMT5 pic.twitter.com/mFFvxQ32ds
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 14, 2025
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-20
A Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 8:29 AM EDT (12:29 UTC). SpaceX has pushed the launch back to the middle of its four-hour launch window. Starlink Group 10-20 launched atop booster B1085 and flew northeast, carrying a payload of 28 satellites for insertion into LEO.
Booster B1085 was making its tenth flight, having previously supported the Starlink Group 10-5, Crew-9, Starlink Group 6-77, GPS III-7, Blue Ghost Mission 1 & HAKUTO-R M2, Fram2, Starlink Group 6-93, SXM-10, and MTG-S1/Sentinel-4A missions. The booster’s first flight was on Aug. 20, 2024, making B1085 the first booster to complete 10 missions within the first year of use.
This was SpaceX’s 99th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, and the 500th Falcon 9 landing attempt.
After launch, the booster landed successfully on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions, which was stationed approximately 640 km downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. The droneship will be returned to Port Canaveral, where the booster will be offloaded to be prepared for its next flight.
The Chinese company Blue Arrow Aerospace was expected to launch the third mission of its ZhuQue-2E (ZQ-2E) rocket on Friday, Aug. 15, at 01:15 UTC from Site 96 at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The launch has been officially deemed to be a failure, but no further information has been released. Social media posts show the rocket lifting off, but an anomaly occurred later in flight.
Though the payload remains unknown, the mission is expected to fly southeast, likely to LEO.
The original ZhuQue-2 (ZQ-2) became the first methane-burning rocket to reach orbit in Dec. 2022.
ZQ-2E also utilizes liquid methane and liquid oxygen as propellants, is 47.3 m tall, and uses the same 3.35 m diameter first stage as the ZQ-2 with four Tianque 12 (TQ-12) engines.
An upgraded ZQ-2E second stage adopts a common bulkhead and a change to the engine profile. This second stage now features one Tianque 15A vacuum-optimized engine in place of both the TQ-12 and the four Tianque 11 vernier thrusters of the ZQ-2.
The enhanced ZQ-2E rocket successfully launched on its maiden flight on Nov. 27, 2024 at 02:00 UTC from Site 96A at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
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Chang Zheng 4C | Shiyan 28 B-02
A Chang Zheng 4C (CZ-4C) has been launched from Launch Complex 3 at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 09:05 UTC.
This was the second time a CZ-4C has flown in 2025.
CZ-4C flew southeast from Xichang, carrying a single “space environment detection” satellite payload to LEO.
CZ-4C is a three-stage rocket that stands at 46.97 m tall, and 3.35 m in diameter. All three stages are propelled by dinitrogen tetroxide and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine.
From https://t.co/cwgWbO5srW: pic.twitter.com/cQ4JqG2ZYV
— Cosmic Penguin (@Cosmic_Penguin) August 17, 2025
Chang Zheng 6A | SatNet LEO Group 09
A Chang Zheng 6A (CZ-6A) launched on Sunday, Aug. 17, at 14:15 UTC from the Launch Complex 9A at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China. The rocket flew south to place the payloads into a polar orbit.
The payload has been confirmed as being another batch of LEO communications satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation, the second such launch this week. The satellites are operated by the China Satellite Network Group.
The CZ-6A rocket consists of two stages with four additional strap-on engines. A 4.2 m diameter, 5.7 m tall fairing sits atop the second stage, giving the vehicle a 50 m height.
LAUNCH! SpaceX Falcon 9 B1088-9 launches Starlink Group 17-5 from SLC-4E, Vandenberg. https://t.co/A3dQa3PxaJ pic.twitter.com/uLH8Q87xIr
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) August 18, 2025
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-5
The final Falcon 9 launch for this Launch Roundup, and the 100th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, took place on Monday, Aug. 18. Falcon 9 launched Starlink Group 17-5 from SLC-4E at VSFB in California. Liftoff occured at 9:26 AM PDT (16:26 UTC), 42 minutes into the 4-hour launch window.
The booster supporting this mission was B1088, making its ninth flight. The payload was 24 Starlink v2.0 Mini satellites, launching on a southern trajectory to a 97-degree inclination orbit.
The booster landed successfully on the west coast droneship Of Course I Still Love You just 8 and a half minutes after launch.
Booster B1088’s previous missions were NROL-126, Transporter 12, SPHEREx & PUNCH, NROL-57, Starlink Group 11-13, Starlink Group 15-4, Starlink Group 15-8, and Starlink Group 15-7. Its first flight was on Nov. 30, 2024.
(Lead image: ULA’s Vulcan launches on its second flight. Credit: Sawyer Rosenstein for NSF)