South Korea, SpaceX, and China ready for launch this week
Space agencies in the U.S., South Korea, and China have scheduled a series of rocket launches for the coming week. These missions include military satellite deployments, Earth-observation constellations, and commercial Starlink launches.
Why it matters
The high frequency of global space launches highlights the accelerating competition and commercialization of low Earth orbit for both military and civilian purposes.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6 , SpaceX will launch the Tranche 1 Transport Layer A mission for the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 4:17 a.m. EDT. The Falcon 9 will carry satellites for SDA’s Transport Layer, a network of military satellites in low Earth orbit. The booster is expected to return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg.
Later on Tuesday, Oct. 6 , the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) will launch its KSLV-2 rocket, known as Nuri, from the Naro Space Center in South Korea at 11:23 p.m. EDT. The rocket carries NeonSat-2 through NeonSat-6, small Earth-observation satellites in a planned constellation to monitor the Korean Peninsula. It also carries 10 CubeSats. This will be Nuri’s fifth flight.
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