The last week of January has a busy slate of orbital launches, with flights from Florida, California, New Zealand, and possibly China on the schedule. SpaceX plans to close out the month with the GPS III SV09 mission, along with up to three Starlink launches, while Rocket Lab’s “Bridging the Swarm” mission is being prepared for liftoff on Electron. SpaceX is also planning to start February with a Starlink launch before the week ends.
The GPS III SV09 launch is the fourth non-Starlink launch of 2026 so far, while “Bridging the Swarm” will be Rocket Lab’s second launch in one week if the schedule holds. China has two possible flights on the manifest: a Chang Zheng 7A from Hainan Island and a Jielong 3 from the South China Sea, though neither has a confirmed launch date. China’s year in spaceflight has already been eventful, with two launch failures within 12 hours in mid-January.