Five Falcon 9 launches make up the launch manifest for this week. Collectively, four of them will add over 100 satellites to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, and one will transport a single Indonesian telecommunications satellite into orbit.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-8
The first of SpaceX’s five scheduled Falcon 9 missions for this week, Starlink Group 17-8, is due to launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 8:13 PM PDT (03:13 UTC on Wednesday, Sept. 3).
A new booster, B1097, is expected to support this mission. After completing its maiden launch, B1097 will land atop SpaceX’s west coast droneship, Of Course I Still Love You, stationed approximately 640 km downrange in the Pacific Ocean. The booster will be returned for reuse on future missions.
The payload will consist of 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched due south to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
Falcon 9 is a 3.9 m diameter, 70 m tall two-stage rocket. The first stage booster is powered by nine Merlin 1D engines, while the second stage utilizes a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are the first and only reusable orbital rockets in service today, with one Falcon booster having recently flown 30 flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flight.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-22
Later, on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 7:06 AM EDT (11:06 UTC), another Starlink mission — Group 10-22 — will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.
Falcon 9 booster B1083 will be supporting the mission and making its 14th flight, having previously supported Crew-8, Starlink Group 6-48, Starlink Group 6-56, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Starlink Group 6-65, Astranis: From One to Many, Starlink Group 13-1, NOVA-C IM-2, Starlink Group 12-17, Starlink Group 6-91, Starlink Group 12-24, and Dror-1.
One of SpaceX’s east coast droneships, A Shortfall of Gravitas, will be stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean to support the booster landing following launch.
Falcon 9’s payload will consist of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched northeast to a low Earth orbit (LEO).
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-57
Completing a cycle of launches from all three Falcon 9 pads, the Starlink Group 10-57 mission is expected to launch on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7:18 AM EDT (11:18 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After ascent and stage separation, the booster supporting this mission, B1069, will land atop SpaceX’s other east coast droneship Just Read the Instructions.
B1069 will be making its 27th flight having previously flown missions CRS-24, Starlink Group 4-23, Hotbird 13F, OneWeb #15, Starlink Group 5-3, SES-18 & SES-19, Starlink Group 5-6, Starlink Group 5-12, Starlink Group 6-9, Starlink Group 6-19, Starlink Group 6-28, Starlink Group 6-36, Starlink Group 6-39, Starlink Group 6-47, Starlink Group 6-57, Starlink Group 10-1, Starlink Group 10-9, Starlink Group 8-10, Starlink Group 10-8, Starlink Group 6-66, Starlink Group 12-3, Starlink Group 12-21, Starlink Group 6-74, Starlink Group 12-22, Starlink Group 10-23, and Starlink Group 10-29.
The payload will consist of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites launched on a northeasterly trajectory toward LEO.
If the current schedule is maintained, this mission will mark the 200th orbital launch attempt of 2025 worldwide.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-9
The week’s fourth and final Starlink mission, Group 17-9, will be launched on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8:42 AM PDT (15:42 UTC) from SLC-4E at VSFB.
The mission will add a further 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to the Group 17 polar shell, with Falcon 9 delivering the payloads to SSO.
Booster B1075 will make its 20th flight in support of this mission, having previously flown missions Starlink Group 2-4, Transport and Tracking Tranche 0 1, Starlink Group 2-9, Starlink Group 5-7, Starlink Group 6-20, Starlink Group 7-3, Starlink Group 7-6, Sarah 2 & 3, Starlink Group 7-12, Starlink Group 7-16 & USA 350/351, Starlink Group 9-2, Transporter 11, Starlink Group 9-17, Starlink Group 9-9, Starlink Group 9-13, Starlink Group 11-3, Starlink Group 11-4, Starlink Group 11-16, and Starlink Group 17-2.
B1075’s landing and recovery will be supported by SpaceX’s west coast droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which will be stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean.
Falcon 9 | Nusantara 5 (Lima)
This week’s only customer Falcon 9 launch is currently scheduled for no earlier than Monday, Sept. 8. The Nusantara 5 mission will place an Indonesian high-throughput telecommunications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite is being launched to replace an earlier version that failed to reach the required orbit following launch aboard a Chinese Chang Zheng 3B rocket in 2020.
A currently unannounced Falcon 9 booster will launch from SLC-40 at CCSFS in Florida and will fly due east.
(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Florida. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
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