Launch Roundup Expanded: China, Russia, Rocket Lab, ULA join SpaceX in a busy launch week
A hectic week ahead begins Monday, Dec. 8, as 2025 nears its final stretch. Plans call for at least six Chinese launches from four space centers nationwide, with Russia aiming for two launches—one from Plesetsk and another from Baikonur. In the United States, ULA targets an Atlas V mission from Florida, Rocket Lab launches from New Zealand, and SpaceX executes seven Falcon 9 missions, six of which are Starlink deliveries, plus a separate Falcon 9 flight for the National Reconnaissance Office from Florida.
Chang Zheng 6A | Unknown Payload
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China’s principal government launch provider, deployed a Chang Zheng 6A (CZ-6A) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) in Shanxi province, northern China. The CZ-6A lifted off at 22:10 UTC on Monday, Dec. 8, from LC-9A at TSLC. The mission followed a southerly trajectory typically used for sun-synchronous orbits. While the payload remains unconfirmed, such orbits are commonly used for reconnaissance, weather, and scientific observation satellites, and TSLC is routinely employed for these missions.
The CZ-6A is a medium-lift vehicle capable of delivering up to about 6,500 kg to a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. It uses four solid rocket boosters and first- and second-stage propulsion based on kerosene and liquid oxygen. This flight marked the 10th CZ-6A launch of the year and the model’s 19th overall flight.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-92
SpaceX kicked off the Starlink rollout for the week with Starlink Group 6-92, launching on Monday, Dec. 8 at 5:26 PM EST (22:26 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The booster delivered a batch of 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to the Group 6 shell, part of SpaceX’s ongoing campaign to expand this lower-inclination constellation.
After liftoff, the Falcon 9 headed southeast from Cape Canaveral, and booster B1067 landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship in the Atlantic. This mission marked the booster’s 32nd flight, setting a new record for a single booster.
Chang Zheng 4C | Unknown Payload
CASC plans a CZ-4C mission from South Launch Site 2 (SLS-2) at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in Inner Mongolia. The launch is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 03:40 UTC. The CZ-4C will again use a southerly trajectory to reach a sun-synchronous orbit, targeting payloads for civilian, scientific, and potentially military Earth observation. The CZ-4C can deliver up to about 2,800 kg to a sun-synchronous orbit. This three-stage vehicle, derived from CZ-4B and employing storable hypergolic propellants, is on its eighth yearly mission and 59th since 2006.
Chang Zheng 3B/E | Unknown Payload
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s CZ-3B/E mission is planned from Launch Complex 3 (LC-3) at Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) in Sichuan. Liftoff is set for Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 15:10 UTC. The three-stage CZ-3B/E will follow an eastward trajectory, a path commonly used for geostationary transfer orbit launches or other missions maximizing Earth’s rotation benefits.
The payload remains unannounced, but XSLC frequently conducts geosynchronous orbit launches for civil and military purposes. This flight marks the 14th Chang Zheng 3 family launch in 2025.
Falcon 9 | NROL-77
SpaceX returns to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) with NROL-77, scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 2:16 PM EST (19:16 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Falcon 9 booster B1096-4, previously flying missions like Amazon Leo KF-01, IMAP, NROL-145, and multiple Starlink launches, will perform a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) maneuver before landing at Landing Zone 2. The second stage will carry the classified NROL-77 payload. This flight represents the 159th Falcon 9 launch in 2025 and could be among the last to reuse LZ-2 before new RTLS pads come online next year.
Kinetica 1 | Unknown Payload
CAS Space, the commercial venture under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, plans to launch Kinetica 1 Y11 from Site 130 at JSLC, northwest China, on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 04:00 UTC. This will be the fifth Kinetica 1 launch in 2025. The rocket will again fly a southward trajectory toward a sun-synchronous or other polar orbit. The four-stage Kinetica 1, also known as Zhongke-1 or Lijian-1, uses four solid stages, with the first stage believed to be derived from the DF-31 ICBM, and can deliver up to about 1,500 kg to a sun-synchronous orbit.
Falcon 9 | Starlink 15-11
A second SpaceX Starlink mission of the week, Starlink 15-11, is planned for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 12:54 AM PST (08:54 UTC) from Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Space Launch Complex-4E. Booster B1082-18 will again attempt a southeastern trajectory and land on the Pacific drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. The second stage will deploy Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a low-Earth orbit inclined to 70 degrees. This marks booster B1082-18’s 10th flight, having previously supported missions including USSF-62, OneWeb-20, NROL-145, and several Starlink launches.
Soyuz 2.1a | Obzor-R No. 1 & Others
Roscosmos plans a Soyuz 2.1a mission from an unspecified pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 14:00 UTC. The Soyuz will place Obzor-R no. 1, an X-band radar Earth-observation satellite, into a sun-synchronous orbit. The payload is expected to be accompanied by several rideshare payloads, possibly including an Iranian Earth-observation satellite. Obzor-R features a 500 m ground resolution SAR and can operate in challenging conditions, such as night and cloud cover.
Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-90
SpaceX’s next Starlink flight is Starlink 6-90, slated for Thursday, Dec. 11 at 1:59 PM EST (18:59 UTC) from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral. Booster B1083-16 will fly a southeast trajectory and land on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic. The second stage will deploy 29 Starlink satellites into a low-Earth orbit inclined at 43 degrees to the Equator. This mission will extend the booster’s flight history, which includes prior Starlink launches and other missions.
Chang Zheng 12 | Unknown Payload
CASC’s CZ-12 mission from the commercial LC-2 at Wenchang Space Launch Site, Hainan Island, is planned for Thursday, Dec. 11 at 23:00 UTC. The CZ-12, a versatile medium-lift rocket capable of delivering up to 12,000 kg to low-Earth orbit, will fly southeast. The payload remains undisclosed. This marks the year’s third CZ-12 base-configuration mission.
Electron | RAISE And Shine
Rocket Lab’s Electron mission, originally scheduled for last week, is now set for Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 03:00 UTC from LC-1B on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand. The RAISE And Shine mission will place JAXA’s 110 kg RApid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite-4 (RAISE-4) into a sun-synchronous orbit. RAISE-4 was initially slated for Japan’s Epsilon rocket, but a motor issue prompted JAXA to switch to Electron. The satellite will provide experimental data and feature 15 demonstrations selected by the public. This flight will be Electron’s 19th launch of 2025 and the 16th orbital mission for the year, in addition to three HASTE suborbital hypersonic tests.
Falcon 9 | Starlink 15-12
SpaceX’s Starlink 15-12 is planned for Friday, Dec. 13 at 9:34 PM PST (05:34 UTC on Saturday, Dec. 14) from SLC-4E at Vandenberg. Booster B1093-9 will attempt a southeast trajectory and land on the Pacific drone ship Just Read the Instructions. The second stage will place 27 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a low-Earth orbit inclined at 70 degrees. This will be the 162nd Falcon 9 launch of 2025, aligning with the year’s rapid cadence.
Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-99
Starlink 6-99 is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 14 at 8:37 AM EST (13:37 UTC) from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, beginning a four-hour window. Booster B1094-6 will fly a southeast trajectory and attempt another Atlantic RTLS landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. The second stage will deploy 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a low-Earth orbit inclined 43 degrees. This will be the 163rd Falcon 9 launch of 2025.
Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-82
Roughly 12 hours after Starlink 6-99, SpaceX plans Starlink 6-82 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, Sunday, Dec. 14 at 9:43 PM MST (02:43 UTC on Monday, Dec. 15). Booster B1092-9 will again launch toward the southeast and perform a Pacific drone ship landing on Just Read the Instructions after deploying 29 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a 43-degree inclined orbit.
Shuangquxian 1 | Unknown Payload
iSpace of China is targeting Shuangquxian 1, or Hyperbola 1, from Site 95A at Jiuquan on Monday, Dec. 15 with a two-hour window opening at 04:00 UTC. The two-stage solid rocket will carry an unannounced payload on a southerly trajectory. This will be the rocket’s 9th flight since 2019 and its 20th overall mission.
Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo LA-04
ULA is slated to fly its sixth 2025 mission—and the fifth Atlas V—on Monday, Dec. 15 at 3:35 AM EST (08:35 UTC) for the Amazon Leo constellation. The 27-satellite payload weighs about 15,422 kg and rides into a 51.9-degree-inclined, roughly 630 km circular low-Earth orbit. The Atlas V 551 configuration employs five solid rocket boosters, a five-meter fairing, and a single Centaur upper stage. This flight would bring Amazon Leo to a total of 180 production satellites in orbit, with ULA planning up to 3,236 total satellites to offer broadband service rivaling Starlink. After this mission, four Atlas V 551 launches remain on the manifest before retirement.
Proton-M/DM-3 | Elektro-L no. 5
The week concludes with one of the final Proton launches: a Proton-M/DM-3 flight from Baikonur’s Site 81/24, scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15 at 11:52 UTC. The four-stage Proton-M uses storable hypergolic propellants for its first three stages and a Blok DM-3 upper stage with liquid oxygen and RP-1 for the final stage. The payload Elektro-L no. 5 is a geostationary weather satellite with seven infrared and three visible channels, plus a heliophysics instrument package and a COSPAS/SARSAT communications relay. This mission is notable as Proton’s last burst of activity before being largely superseded by the Angara A5, marking a transitional era for heavy-lift launches. This flight also signals the winding down of Proton launches, with other missions still on the books as replacement launch plans proceed.
Lead image note: ULA hoists the Kuiper, now Amazon Leo, KA-02 payload atop the Atlas V in the Vertical Integration Facility-G. Credit: ULA
