Despite a relatively modest lineup of confirmed missions, August is still shaping up to be a month to watch, with several first-of-their-kind launches potentially on the horizon. This summer has continued a growing trend of public and private sector collaborations, including an increasing number of international partnerships.
In June, for instance, Australian company Gilmour Space debuted its ElaraSat spacecraft bus on SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission, carrying a scientific instrument for Australia’s national science agency. August is expected to build on that momentum. Private companies continue to dominate the launch schedule, offering a glimpse of what the industry might look like in the wake of widespread resignations at NASA.
Here are seven notable space missions to watch in August:
Aug. 1: SpaceX to launch NASA Crew-11 to the ISS. Kicking off the month, SpaceX will launch its 12th crewed mission for NASA. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled to lift off following a one-day weather delay. The mission will transport four astronauts to the International Space Station: NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
Aug. 4 and Aug. 9: SpaceX to conduct two Starlink launches. Two Falcon 9 rockets will launch batches of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Combined, the missions are expected to add more than 50 satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation, which already includes nearly 7,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit.
Aug. 12: France’s Arianespace to launch a weather satellite. French launch provider Arianespace is expected to use its Ariane 6 rocket to launch a satellite for EUMETSAT—the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. The MetOp-SG A1 will be the first in a planned series of six satellites to be launched by 2040.
TBD: SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission to return to Earth. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are scheduled to return to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance. After four months aboard the ISS, the crew is expected to splash down off the coast of California early in the month.
TBD: ULA to launch a Space Force mission. United Launch Alliance (ULA) is targeting a launch window this month for the USSF-106 mission aboard its new Vulcan Centaur rocket. If successful, it will be the first of more than two dozen U.S. Space Force launches awarded under a national security contract. The mission is slated to lift off from Cape Canaveral, though a firm date has not been set.
TBD: ULA to launch Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser plane. ULA is also expected to launch Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket. The mission, developed in partnership with NASA, will be the first time a commercial winged spaceplane visits the ISS. Dream Chaser is designed to be reusable and capable of transporting both crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit.
TBD: Northrop Grumman to launch a weather satellite for US Space Force. Northrop Grumman will launch a weather satellite built by General Atomics aboard a Minotaur IV rocket from a U.S. Space Force base in California. The mission, part of a $45.5 million contract, will test commercial weather imaging technologies for military use. The satellite is expected to operate in orbit for three years.
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