The NROL-72 mission was the 13th to date supporting what the NRO calls its “proliferated architecture” satellite constellation. Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:13:50 p.m. PDT (10:13:50 p.m. EDT / 0213:50 UTC).
Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link spacecraft is set to head to orbit in June 2026 onboard Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL air-launched rocket. NASA awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract for the mission in September 2025.
The company pivoted to a Neutron rocket launch debut no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2026 following a first stage tank test failure earlier this year. The first flight of Neutron won’t be reusable, but aims to recover the first stage during its second flight with a landing barge.
The Starlink 17-29 mission was the 44th dedicated flight supporting the broadband internet constellation so far in 2026. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 8:59:19 p.m. PDT (11:59:19 p.m. EDT / 0359:19 UTC).
The announcement comes ahead of Firefly Aerospace’s first quarter earnings call for investors. A timeline for the first ocean-based Alpha rocket launches wasn’t announced.
The CAS500-2 mission lifted off from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12 a.m. PDT (3 a.m. EDT / 0700 UTC). The Korea Aerospace Industries’ Compact Advanced Satellite 500 (CAS500) satellite was the first to deploy about an hour after liftoff.
The Starlink 10-38 mission saw SpaceX deploy 29 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 2:06:10 p.m. EDT (1806:10 UTC).
The mission was the 12th launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket to date. The rocket lifted off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 UTC) on Wednesday, April 29.
The mission will send the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is scheduled for 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 UTC), at the opening of an 85-minute window.
The mission, dubbed Amazon Leo 6 by United Launch Alliance and Leo Atlas 6 (LA-06) by Amazon Leo, is the 10th batch of production satellites launched to orbit. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 8:53:30 p.m. EDT (0053:30 UTC).
This will be the 12th launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket to date and the first use of Landing Zone 2 and Landing Zone 40 simultaneously. A new launch date from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is being determined.