The launch manifest for this week included five Falcon 9 launches. Four of them collectively added over 100 satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. A further one was expected to transport a single Indonesian telecommunications satellite into orbit, but this has now slipped into next week.
Internationally, China launched four missions during the week.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-8
The first of SpaceX’s 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 SpaceX’s 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 — launched from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.
Falcon 9 booster B1083 was 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 SpaceX’s east coast droneships, A Shortfall of Gravitas, was stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean to support the booster landing following launch.
Falcon 9’s payload consisted of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched northeast to a low Earth orbit (LEO).
This mission marked the 200th orbital launch attempt of 2025 worldwide.
Chang Zheng 3C/YZ-1 | Shiyan 29
A Chang Zheng 3C rocket launched on Friday, Sept. 5, at 02:35 UTC from LC-2 at Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China.
Some details of the launch have been released: The payload was a single satellite designated Shiyan 29, and the mission flew 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.
A second Chinese mission launched on Friday, Sept. 5 was a Gushenxing-1 (Ceres-1) rocket, launched from Site 94A at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. Launch occurred at 11:35 UTC, and the flight trajectory was due south. This mission marked the fifth for Gushenxing-1 in 2025.
Once again, details of the payload remain uncertain, but as reported to consist of three satellites.
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 10-57
Completing a cycle of launches from all three Falcon 9 pads, the Starlink Group 10-57 mission launched on Friday, Sept. 5, at 8:32 AM EDT (12:32 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch time had been pushed back to approximately halfway into the four-hour launch window available, which closed at 10:56 AM EDT (14:56 UTC).
After ascent and stage separation, the booster supporting this mission, B1069, landed atop SpaceX’s other east coast droneship Just Read the Instructions.
B1069 was 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 consisted of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched on a northeasterly trajectory toward LEO.
Chang Zheng 6A | Yaogan 40 Group 03
The third Chinese mission in two days, a Chang Zheng 6A successfully launched from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 16:35 UTC. The rocket flew due south. The payload consisted of three reconnaissance satellites.
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.
LAUNCH! SpaceX Falcon 9 B1075-20 launches Starlink Group 17-9 from SLC-4E, Vandenberg.
Overview:https://t.co/GacQptdFxb
Live: https://t.co/K2CKKJ3F9G pic.twitter.com/D8Y1abDUg7
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) September 6, 2025
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-9
The week’s fourth and final Starlink mission, Group 17-9, launched on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 11:06 AM PDT (18:06 UTC) from SLC-4E at VSFB. The T-0 time was pushed back towards the end of the four-hour launch window which closed at 12:42 PM PDT (19:42 UTC).
The mission added a further 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to the Group 17 polar shell, with Falcon 9 delivering the payloads to SSO.
Booster B1075 was making 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.
B1075’s landing and recovery were supported by SpaceX’s west coast droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which was stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean.
Jielong 3 | Geely Constellation Group 05
A further Chinese launch took place on Monday, Sept. 8, at approximately 19:48 UTC, from Chinese coastal waters near Rizhao.
A Jielong 3 rocket has launched from the Oriental Seaport Launch Ship (Area 1). The payload of 11 communications satellites, part of the Geely constellation used for autonomous driving and automotive services, was carried southeast towards orbit.
Jielong 3 has four stages, all solid rocket motor powered, and stands at a height of 31 m.
(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Florida. Â Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
