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all space launches, including both piloted missions and automated satellites.
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Jonathan's Space Report
No. 859 draft 2026 Aug 1 Bromley, UK
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Update:
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Construction on my new Space Library near London is sort-of-proceeding, with, alas, further delays.
Updates at https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-jonathans-space-report-library-transition
ISS
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Expedition 75 is underway.
On Aug 6 astronauts Meir and Menon (in suits 3015 and 3005) carried out spacewalk US EVA-96 to install the solar array
mod kit on the 3B solar array truss. The airlock was depressurized at 1224 UTC and repressurization began
at 1900 UTC. The mod kit, launched to ISS aboard Cygnus NG-21 in Aug 2024, was transferred from the airlock
and installed at the 3B mast on the S6 truss. An IROSA solar array will eventually be attached to the mod kit.
Starlink Launches
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Starlink Group 17-52 (24 Ku sats) was launched on Aug 1 by Falcon 9 from Vandenberg.
Starlink Group 17-53 (24 Ku sats) was launched on Aug 4 by Falcon 9 from Vandenberg.
Starlink Group 17-38 (24 Ku sats) was launched on Aug 8 by Falcon 9 from Vandenberg.
Starlink Group 10-19 (29 Ku sats) was launched on Aug 11 by Falcon 9 from Canaveral.
Other F9
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On Aug 5 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Canaveral with three more AST Space Mobile
6-tonne communications satellites.
On Aug 5 at 0635 UTC the Falcon 9 upper stage from the Jan 2025 Blue Ghost/Resilience launch
impacted the Moon near Einstein crater at 93.286W 19.476N
CALT Launches
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WHDW 23 (Xingwang/SatNet LEO 23) was launched on Aug 4 by CZ-8A.
CALT launched a CZ-7A from Wenchang on Aug 10, but it failed during first stage flight and was
destroyed. The payload is rumoured to have been the ZX-4B military comms sat.
Chinese commercial launches
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On Aug 5 a Jielong-3 was launched from the DFHT barge off the coast of Haiyang. It placed
the Dongfang Huiyan Gaoguangpu 1 and 2 satellites in orbit. The satellites are
also called Lampung-1 and Samarqand-2028. They are owned and operated by the Chinese Diwei-2 (STAR VISION)
company; the Lampung (Indonesia) provincial government and Uzbekcosmos are buying the data from the
satellites. The satellites were placed in a 790 km orbit. The single elset released so far
for the upper stage puts it in a 539 x 558 km orbit, which implies a pair of orbit lowering burns
rather than the usual single depletion burn, and might suggest an attached payload on the upper stage.
Rocket Lab
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Rocket Lab launched an Electron on Aug 6 placing the QPS SAR 13 radar sat (Mikura-I) in orbit for iQPS (Japan).
H3
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On Aug 10 JAXA and Mitsubishi launched H3 flight F9 from Tanegashima with the Michibiki-7 navigation satellite.
Table of Recent Orbital (and near-Orbital) Launches
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Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. Catalog Perigee Apogee Incl Notes
Jul 30 0710 USA 619 (NROL-95) Falcon 9 Canaveral LC40 Sigint 174A 1140 x 1160 x 63.5?
Aug 1 0308 Starlink Group 17-52 Falcon 9 Vandenberg SLC4E Comms 175 275 x 270 x 97.3
Aug 4 0852 WHDW 23 Chang Zheng 8A Hainan Comms 176 1093 x 1107 x 50.0
Aug 4 1705 Starlink Group 17-53 Falcon 9 Vandenberg SLC4E Comms 177 256 x 270 x 97.3
Aug 5 0238 Dongfang Huiyan Gaoguangpu 1 and 2 Jielong-3 DFHT, Yellow Sea Imaging 178 780 x 797 x 98.6
Aug 5 0849 SpaceMobile 11 to 13 Falcon 9 Canaveral LC40 Comms 179 523 x 531 x 53.0
Aug 6 0918 QPS-SAR-13 Electron Mahia Radar 180 568 x 581 x 42.0
Aug 8 1635 Starlink Group 17-38 Falcon 9 Vandenberg SLC4E Comms 181 257 x 271 x 97.3
Aug 10 1202? ZX-4B? Chang Zheng 7A Wenchang Comms F06 -6300?x 10? x 15?
Aug 10 1923 Michibiki-7 H3-22S Tanegashima Nav 182 390 x 35374 x 22.9
Aug 11 1558 Starlink Group 10-19 Falcon 9 Canaveral LC40 Comms 183 241 x 256 x 53.2
Table of Recent Suborbital Launches
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Date UT Payload/Flt Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission Apogee/km Target
Jul 6 0401 RV JL-2 Type 094 Sub?,S Ch.Sea Test 1000? Pacific
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| Jonathan McDowell | |
| Bromley, UK | inter : planet4589 at gmail |
| | twitter: @planet4589 |
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| JSR: https://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html |
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