Launch week: August 17-23, 2026
Four dated launches currently fill August 17–23 UTC: Landspace tests ZhuQue-3, then SpaceX runs three Starlink missions from Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral, with webcast destinations and the missing payload detail marked.
Four launches have dated slots in the August 17–23, 2026 UTC calendar: a Landspace ZhuQue-3 test on August 18, followed by three SpaceX Starlink missions on August 19, 20 and 22. The week is compact, but the first launch carries an undisclosed payload and the three Falcon 9 missions use different launch sites. 12
All times below are UTC.
NET means no earlier than; TBD means the source has not settled or disclosed the field. The three Falcon 9 times below follow Spaceflight Now's GMT schedule; the ZhuQue-3 time is converted from the CST time on its Next Spaceflight detail page. 23Quick schedule
| UTC date and time | Mission / vehicle | Launch organisation | Site and pad | Payload and destination | Status and webcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 23:35 Window 23:27–Aug 19, 00:04 | Flight 2 ZhuQue-3 | Landspace | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Site 96B | Second test flight of ZhuQue-3. Payload identities are TBD; target orbit is low Earth orbit. | Planned; payload TBD. No mission-specific webcast is listed. 3 |
| Aug 19, 02:00 Window 02:00–06:00 | Starlink Group 17-50 Falcon 9 Block 5 | SpaceX | Vandenberg Space Force Base, SLC-4E | 24 Starlink v2-mini satellites to low Earth orbit; Next Spaceflight labels the target sun-synchronous orbit. 4 | Scheduled in the current listing. SpaceX mission page; webcast starts about 10 minutes before liftoff. 5 |
| Aug 20, 15:19 Window 15:19–19:19 | Starlink Group 10-39 Falcon 9 Block 5 | SpaceX | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, SLC-40 | 29 Starlink v2-mini satellites to low Earth orbit. 6 | Scheduled in the current listing. SpaceX mission page; webcast starts about 10 minutes before liftoff. 7 |
| Aug 22, 07:25 Window 07:25–11:25 | Starlink Group 15-20 Falcon 9 Block 5 | SpaceX | Vandenberg Space Force Base, SLC-4E | 27 Starlink v2-mini satellites to low Earth orbit. 8 | Scheduled in the current listing. SpaceX mission page; webcast starts about 10 minutes before liftoff. 9 |
Mission cards
ZhuQue-3 Flight 2: the vehicle is the story
Landspace's second ZhuQue-3 flight is currently planned for 23:35 UTC on August 18 from Site 96B at Jiuquan. The source gives a 37-minute window that crosses into August 19 UTC. It identifies the mission as a second test launch and leaves the payload identities undisclosed. 3
That makes this an engineering watch rather than a payload watch. The source lists low Earth orbit as the target and gives no mission-specific webcast, so readers who want to follow it live need to monitor Landspace or a spaceflight news feed for a broadcast announcement. 3
Starlink Group 17-50: the first Falcon 9 slot
SpaceX's Vandenberg launch opens at 02:00 UTC on August 19. Spaceflight Now lists 24 Starlink v2-mini satellites and the B1097 first stage, which is scheduled to make its 12th flight and land on Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific. 2
The official SpaceX page gives the same mission, site and 24-satellite payload. It says the webcast will begin about 10 minutes before liftoff. 5
Starlink Group 10-39: the Florida slot
The Cape Canaveral mission opens at 15:19 UTC on August 20. SpaceX is targeting 29 Starlink satellites for low Earth orbit from SLC-40, with B1078 assigned to its 30th flight and a planned landing on A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic. 27
This is the week's only dated Florida launch. Its four-hour window ends at 19:19 UTC, so the mission has a larger planning range than the short 15-minute window used by many earlier Falcon 9 entries. 6
Starlink Group 15-20: Saturday morning in UTC
The third Starlink mission opens at 07:25 UTC on August 22 from Vandenberg's SLC-4E. SpaceX lists 27 satellites for low Earth orbit, with B1100 assigned to its ninth flight and a planned droneship landing in the Pacific. 29
The slot is early on Saturday in UTC. The official webcast page is already available, and SpaceX says the live feed begins about 10 minutes before the target time. 9
Watch priorities
- Set the first alert for Aug 18, 23:35 UTC. ZhuQue-3 Flight 2 is the only non-Starlink mission and the only entry whose payload remains undisclosed. Its value for launch followers is the second test of Landspace's vehicle, not a known customer or destination. 3
- Use the official SpaceX pages for all three Falcon 9 alerts. Their webcast pages are mission-specific and state that the live feed begins about 10 minutes before liftoff. The three targets are Aug 19 at 02:00, Aug 20 at 15:19 and Aug 22 at 07:25 UTC. 579
- Keep the sites separate in your calendar. Starlink 17-50 and Starlink 15-20 launch from Vandenberg's SLC-4E; Starlink 10-39 uses Cape Canaveral's SLC-40. Their similar payloads do not mean the same range, weather or recovery conditions. 2
- Recheck before setting alarms. The three Spaceflight Now entries were updated August 15, and launch windows can move after publication. 2
Coverage notes
The current Next Spaceflight list has four dated entries inside the August 17–23 UTC window. It groups two entries on Wednesday, one on Thursday and one on Saturday; the detail pages supply the exact date, time, pad and payload fields used above. The August 24 Chang'e 7 listing is outside this issue's Sunday cutoff. 13468
The same current schedule also shows month-only August targets for Rocket Lab's The Lightning God Defends, Galactic Energy's Demo Flight, Isar's Onward and Upward, ADD's Demo Flight and other missions. They remain outside the dated count because
NET August does not establish that an event falls between August 17 and August 23. Rocket Lab's own page likewise gives The Lightning God Defends only as NET late August. 110No dated launch inside this UTC week appears in the retrieved NASA events archive, ESA launch page, Blue Origin missions page or ISRO launch-missions table. NASA's nearest dated item is the Roman Space Telescope on August 30; ESA lists MTG-I2 for August 27 in the independent launch schedule. 211121314
Launch dates, windows and webcasts can change after publication. Recheck the operator page before setting an alarm, especially for the payload-unknown ZhuQue-3 test and the three SpaceX targets.
References
- 1Next Spaceflight - current launch list
nextspaceflight.com
- 2Spaceflight Now - Launch Schedule
spaceflightnow.com
- 3Next Spaceflight - Flight 2 / ZhuQue-3
nextspaceflight.com
- 4Next Spaceflight - Starlink Group 17-50
nextspaceflight.com
- 5SpaceX - Starlink mission, August 19
spacex.com
- 6Next Spaceflight - Starlink Group 10-39
nextspaceflight.com
- 7SpaceX - Starlink mission, August 20
spacex.com
- 8Next Spaceflight - Starlink Group 15-20
nextspaceflight.com
- 9SpaceX - Starlink mission, August 22
spacex.com
- 10Rocket Lab - Launches
rocketlabusa.com
- 11NASA - Events
nasa.gov
- 12ESA - Launches and missions
esa.int
- 13Blue Origin - Missions
blueorigin.com
- 14ISRO - Launch Missions
isro.gov.in
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