There are two launches from China to start this week, the first of which will be the 95th launch attempt of the year worldwide. If all goes to plan, this week should see the 100th launch of 2024, although the schedule is rather fluid at present. SpaceX has already passed 50 launches this year and continued its high cadence with the launch of the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) NROL-14 mission. This classified payload’s launch has been rescheduled from last week.
SpaceX continued to launch Starlink missions but only launched two of the three scheduled for this week. The launch cadence had previously been slightly hindered on the East Coast while one of the autonomous drone ships was undergoing maintenance, but it is now back in service.
Rocket Lab conducted the first of two rapid succession launches for a NASA science mission, both from New Zealand on Saturday. Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner Crewed Flight Test (CFT) mission has been delayed until June 1.
A very last-minute update for this Roundup was a North Korean satellite launch that failed to reach orbit.
Lastly, a Chinese sea launch was scheduled for Saturday, with four internet satellites aboard, but is now also delayed beyond the scope of this Roundup.