This week has seen seven launches from five different rockets from across the world. SpaceX launched two missions on its workhorse Falcon 9, while a Russian Soyuz launched three new crew members towards the International Space Station from Kazakhstan.
A Russian military payload launched atop an Angara 1.2 from northern Russia, and South Korea launched a satellite aboard its KSLV-2 rocket. China was to attempt two launches, including the maiden flight of a reusable booster, but this attempt was postponed. Ending out the week, a Vega C carried a South Korean satellite to a Sun-synchronous orbit from French Guiana.
The week started with the launch of an Angara 1.2 on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 13:00 UTC from Site 35/1 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. Angara launched a military payload into a low-Earth orbit (LEO) on a northeastern trajectory. This mission marked the seventh flight of an Angara 1.2 and the third of 2025.
Angara 1.2 is a two-stage rocket that stands 42.7 m tall and 2.9 m in diameter. The first stage features a single RD-191 engine powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene. The second stage utilizes a single RD-0124A engine powered by the same propellants as the first stage.
South Korea launched a Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle 2 (KSLV-2) rocket from Launch Complex 2 at the Naro Space Center in South Korea on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Liftoff occurred at 16:13 UTC, delayed until the final minute of the launch window due to an unexpected sensor reading. The KSLV-2 lofted the Compact Advanced Satellite 500-3 (CAS500-3) satellite to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). CAS500-3 is a space technology verification and Earth observation research satellite. Riding to SSO alongside CAS500-3 will be 12 cubesats, bringing the total payload mass to approximately 500 kg.
KSLV-2, also known as the “Nuri,” is a three-stage rocket manufactured by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). All three stages of the KSLV-2 utilize Jet A and liquid oxygen propellants. The rocket stands 47.5 m in height and 3.5 m in diameter. This mission marks the fourth flight of a KSLV-2, and the first of 2025.
Off they go! @Astro_ChrisW is embarking on his first-ever flight to space. The crew aboard the spacecraft will spend eight months conducting research on the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/MLzOnKL7DL
— NASA (@NASA) November 27, 2025
The second Russian mission of the week saw a Soyuz 2.1a rocket launch on Thursday, Nov. 27, at 09:27:57 UTC from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Soyuz 2.1a launched the Soyuz MS-28 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), flying on a northwestern trajectory to execute a three-hour rendezvous and docking with the ISS at 12:38 UTC on Nov. 27.
The crew of Soyuz MS-28 consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. Kud-Sverchkov will serve as Soyuz MS-28’s commander. The mission will mark the final flight to the Station as part of Expedition 73, with Expedition 74 expected to begin with the undocking of Soyuz MS-27 in early December. The three Soyuz MS-28 crew members are expected to remain on the ISS for eight months.
The Soyuz 2 rocket has two major variants: Soyuz 2.1a, the base version, and Soyuz 2.1b, which uses a more powerful third stage. Four RD-107A engines power Soyuz 2.1a on the first stage (arranged around the second, core stage), with a single RD-108A engine on the core stage, and an RD-0110 engine on the third stage. Each stage uses liquid oxygen and liquid kerosene (RP-1) propellants.
Following the launch, a three-level retractable maintenance cabin structure collapsed into the flame trench below Site 31/6. No further information has been released regarding the incident, but it is likely to have severe ramifications for Soyuz and the ISS.
LAUNCH! SpaceX Falcon 9 B1071-30 launches Transporter-15 with 140 payloads from SLC-4E, Vandenberg.
Overview by @elliedayxo https://t.co/NYApeKTAvc
Live: https://t.co/z7yEmD4FHb pic.twitter.com/7HzMU7YOoi
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) November 28, 2025
The first Falcon 9 mission of the week was expected to launch on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 10:19 AM PST (18:19 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. The countdown went into hold approximately 15 minutes before launch, and teams called a scrub for the day shortly thereafter. No further updates were provided at the time, except that the next launch opportunity was on Friday, Nov. 28. Liftoff occurred at 10:44 AM PST (18:44 UTC), approximately halfway into a 57-minute launch window, after a short delay.
Falcon 9 launched the Transporter 15 rideshare mission, which will carry multiple payloads into SSO on a southerly trajectory out of VSFB.
Introducing LEO Express 3, launching soon on the Transporter-15 rideshare mission with @SpaceX.
Mira is flying its third mission, debuting the first vehicle in the upgraded spacecraft line. Building on the success of the LEO Express 1 and 2 missions, LEO Express 3 expands Mira’s… pic.twitter.com/JDzi92VeW5
— Impulse Space (@GoToImpulse) November 4, 2025
Included among the 140 payloads is Impulse Space’s upgraded version of the Mira spacecraft, LEO Express 3, which is also a rideshare spacecraft. LEO Express 3 leverages Mira’s high thrust and high maneuverability to deliver customers’ small satellites to precise orbits.
Falcon booster B1071 supported Transporter 15 on its 30th mission, making it the second Falcon booster to achieve 30 flights. B1071 is the second most flown booster after B1067, which made its 31st flight on Oct. 19. Following launch and stage separation, B1071 will land on SpaceX’s west coast droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which was stationed approximately 640 km downrange in the Pacific Ocean. The booster will be returned to port in Long Beach.
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 second stage utilizes a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are the first orbital rockets to achieve regular re-use, with several Falcon boosters having flown over 20 flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flight.
Chang Zheng 7A | Unknown Payload
China has lately announced two missions to launch within 24 hours of each other. The first of these is a Chang Zheng 7A (CZ-7A), launched on Sunday, Nov. 30, at 12:20 UTC from Launch Complex 201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China. The identity of the payload for this mission remained uncertain until after launch, as is usual for Chinese missions, and was identified as Shijian-28, a classified experimental satellite. Official hazard notices indicate that the CZ-7A flew due east.
F 58 m tall, the CZ-7A has three stages, with the first stage featuring four strap-on boosters. The first two stages and the four boosters all use liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellants, while the third stage burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. CZ-7A uses four strap-on liquid-fuelled boosters.
The second of the recently announced Chinese missions will be the maiden flight of the Chinese Commercial operator LandSpace’s ZhuQue-3 (ZQ-3) rocket, which features a reusable first stage (booster). LandSpace was targeting Monday, Dec. 1, at 04:00 UTC for the launch, from Site 96B at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China, however this flight has now been delayed until later in the year. Following flight and stage separation, the booster will attempt to land on a designated landing pad approximately 300 km downrange from the launch site.
The two-stage ZQ-3 is 76.6 m in height and 4.6 m in diameter. Atop the rocket, a 5.2 m-diameter, 15.5 m-tall fairing will be available for future payloads. Nine TQ-12A engines power the first stage, while the second uses a single TQ-15A vacuum engine. Both stainless steel-built stages use methalox propellants.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-86
Ending out the week for SpaceX, and now the first Starlink mission of the week — Starlink Group 6-86 — launched atop Falcon 9 on Monday, Dec. 1, at 02:44 AM EST (07:44 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Falcon booster B1095 supported the mission, flying for just the fourth time. B1095 lifted 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into LEO on a southeasterly trajectory before landing atop the Just Read The Instructions droneship in the Atlantic. The landing marked SpaceX’s 200th consecutive successful landing of a Falcon booster.
This also marked the 571st Falcon 9 mission of all time, and the 153rd mission of 2025. Furthermore, Starlink Group 6-86 served as the 283rd orbital launch attempt worldwide in 2025.
LAUNCH! Arianespace Vega C launches KOMPSAT-7 from Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana.
Arianespace stream:https://t.co/pijYXJp3Kq pic.twitter.com/p2r1fuphng
— NSF – NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) December 1, 2025
Arianespace launched a Vega C rocket on Monday, Dec. 1, at 17:21:25 UTC from L’Ensemble de lancement Vega (ELV) at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. Vega C was carrying KOMPSAT-7, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite to be operated by the Korea Aerospace Administration in South Korea.
The 1,750 kg mass satellite was inserted into a 505 km SSO, and features multiple SAR modes ranging from 0.5 m VHR to 20 m wide-swath coverage. Furthermore, KOMPSAT-7 will utilize the Advanced Earth Imaging Sensor System with High Resolution (AEISS-HR) camera, which provides 30 cm resolution in panchromatic mode, 1.2 m resolution in color mode, and four-meter resolution in infrared mode.
Vega C is a four-stage rocket standing at 35 m tall and 3.4 m in diameter. The first three stages utilize solid rocket motors, while the fourth stage (also known as the AVUM stage) features an RD-843 engine with unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) propellants.
(Lead Image: A Falcon 9 launches Starlink Group 6-78 from Florida. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
