Launch Preview: Falcon 9, Electron, and Vega C launch missions alongside Starship Flight 12

Date:
Tue, 19 May 2026 21:08:02 +0000

Description:
Six launches are scheduled worldwide during the next week, with the 12th flight of SpaceXs The post Launch Preview: Falcon 9, Electron, and Vega C launch missions alongside Starship Flight 12 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Six launches are scheduled worldwide during the next week, with the 12th flight of SpaceXs Starship serving as the headline. Outside of Starship, SpaceX is scheduled to launch three Starlink missions on Falcon 9 from the companys launch facilities in California and Florida.

Internationally, Avio launched the joint European and Chinese SMILE mission atop a Vega C early Tuesday morning. Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch an Earth observation satellite atop an Electron for Japanese satellite company Synspective on Friday.



Vega C | SMILE

Avio, the contractor responsible for the Vega C launch vehicle, has taken responsibility for Vega C launches from Arianespace. Avios first launch as a provider occurred successfully on Tuesday, May 19, at 03:52 UTC from the ELV pad at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

The rocket took a northward trajectory suitable for a highly elliptical polar orbit, and deployed the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) spacecraft to a 5,000 km by 121,000 km orbit. From that orbit, SMILE will study the interaction of the solar wind with Earths magnetosphere. Technicians working on the SXI instrument for SMILE before its integration. (Credit: Space Park Leicester)

SMILE is a joint collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and
the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The 2,250 kg spacecraft will use four science instruments to study the magnetosphere during a three-year primary mission. These instruments are a soft X-ray imager, an ultraviolet imager, a light ion analyzer, and a magnetometer.

This flight was not only the first launch with Avio as the provider, but also the first Vega C mission of 2026 and the 29th Vega mission overall. The original Vega and the Vega C have a checkered mission success record, with three failures between them. The original Vega is retired, and the last five Vega C flights, including VV29, have been successful.

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-42

The first Starlink mission in two weeks is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, at 7:11 PM PDT (02:11 UTC on Wednesday, May 20) from Space Launch Complex-4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. The launch window lasts until 11:11 PM PDT on May 19 (06:11 UTC on May 20).



Booster B1103, flying on its second mission, will take a southerly trajectory as is usual with Group 17 launches. The booster will land on Of Course I
Still Love You in the Pacific, and the second stage will finish the job of placing 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into orbit. The booster started its career with Starlink Group 17-35 on April 6.

There are now over 10,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, and the launch
cadence of Starlink missions has slowed noticeably in recent weeks. This is due to the company being in replenish mode rather than rapidly building its constellation, as well as the need to focus on the CRS-34 and Starship Flight 12 missions.

Falcon 9s launch cadence will also slow slightly this year as the company repurposes assets, including the droneship Just Read the Instructions , to support upcoming Starship operations in Florida. This flight is the 57th Falcon 9 launch of 2026, while SpaceX is still on track to fly close to its record-setting 165 launches set last year. Ship 39 and Booster 19 on the pad at Starbase ahead of Flight 12. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

Starship | Flight 12

After seven months on the ground, the Starship program is about to resume flights with the new Block 3 vehicle. Flight 12 is currently scheduled for Thursday, May 21, at 5:30 PM CDT (22:30 UTC) from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. The launch window lasts until 7:00 PM CDT on May 21 (00:00 UTC on Friday, May 22).

Starship will fly to the southeast in a new trajectory between the Yucatn Peninsula and Cuba, and will target a velocity just below that needed to attain a full orbit of Earth, similar to the previous 11 Starship flights. Booster 19, the first Block 3 Super Heavy, will attempt a soft landing in the water off Starbase, while Ship 39, the first Block 3 ship, will pass over Africa before ending its flight in the Indian Ocean off Australia.

Flight 12 will be the first launch using the Raptor 3 engine, a heavily redesigned development of the Raptor 2 that has flown previous Starship missions. This mission will also fly 22 payloads: 20 dummy Starlink
satellites and two satellites with operational elements. These satellites
will take the same suborbital trajectory as Ship 39.



After a difficult year in 2025 and with the HLS competition for a human lunar lander reopened, the Starship program is under pressure to continue advancing toward an operational vehicle. Flight 12 is the first Starship mission of the year, and the first from the new and redesigned Pad 2.

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-31

The first Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in 20 days is set to fly from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) on Thursday, May 21, at 5:26 AM EDT (09:26 UTC). The launch window lasts until 9:26 AM EDT (13:26 UTC).

B1077, flying on its 28th mission, will take a northeast trajectory with 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites on board, and the booster will land on A
Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic. The booster began its career with the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station and also flew GPS III SV06, Inmarsat I-6 F2, CRS-28, Galaxy 37, CRS NG-20, Optus-X, and 20 Starlink missions.

The recent pause in Starlink launches from CCSFS was caused by the need to
fly CRS-34 from SLC-40. This flight is the 58th Falcon 9 launch of 2026. Liftoff of the 70th Electron flight. (Credit: Rocket Lab)

Electron | Viva La StriX

Rocket Lab plans to launch a Synspective satellite aboard an Electron rocket from its private launch site on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. The
flight is scheduled for Friday, May 22, at 09:30 UTC from a pad at Launch Complex-1, with an unknown launch window duration.

Electron will launch the StriX-7 satellite into low-Earth orbit (LEO). The satellite will be the third to fly as part of Synspectives block purchase of 10 launches from Rocket Lab to fill out a constellation of Earth observation satellites, and it is the ninth overall mission that Rocket Lab has flown for Synspective.

Like all StriX satellites, StriX-7 is equipped with a synthetic aperture
radar that can penetrate cloud cover and view targets on Earth at night as well as during the day. This satellite will conduct its work from a circular LEO at 572 km altitude inclined 44.8 degrees to the equator to cover mid-latitude areas.

Viva La StriX is the ninth Electron launch of 2026 and the 88th Electron launch overall. Rocket Lab is still working on its upcoming Neutron medium-lift launcher, which is scheduled to fly in the fourth quarter of this year. Artists impression of a Synspective satellite in orbit. (Credit: Synspective)

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-37

SpaceX is currently planning to fly the Starlink Group 17-37 mission on Saturday, May 23, at 7:00 AM PDT (14:00 UTC) from SLC-4E at VSFB. The launch window lasts until 11:00 AM PDT (18:00 UTC).

Booster B1100 will take a southerly trajectory on its sixth flight and will ultimately land atop Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific. The second stage will carry the 24 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into LEO. The booster started its career with the Starlink Group 11-30 mission, and has also flown NROL-105 along with three other Starlink missions, all from VSFB. This flight will be the 59th Falcon 9 launch of 2026.

(Lead image: Timelapse of activity at Starbase with Booster 19 and Ship 39 pictured. Credit: Ceaser G for NSF/L2)



The post Launch Preview: Falcon 9, Electron, and Vega C launch missions alongside Starship Flight 12 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/05/launch-preview-051926/


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