{"id":23880,"date":"2025-02-03T18:22:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-roundup-soyuz-flies-new-shepard-simulates-lunar-gravity\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T18:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:22:53","slug":"launch-roundup-soyuz-flies-new-shepard-simulates-lunar-gravity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-roundup-soyuz-flies-new-shepard-simulates-lunar-gravity\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch Roundup: Soyuz flies; New Shepard simulates lunar gravity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This week\u2019s launch manifest is quite diverse, featuring the launches of four different rockets worldwide. Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital rocket has simulated the Moon\u2019s gravity from just beyond the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line, and Rocket Lab launched Electron for the first time this year from New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>Russia launched Soyuz for the first time in 2025 with a batch of classified satellites. SpaceX continued its rapid launch cadence this week with four successful Falcon 9 launches.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><b>Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 12-3<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Following a significant delay that pushed this launch from December 2024 to February 2025, Falcon 9 finally carried 21 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to LEO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the CCSFS at 5:15 AM EST (10:15 UTC) on Feb. 4. The window for this mission extended to 7:26 AM EST (12:26 UTC), allowing any minor mishaps or potential weather delays to pass.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"\ud83d\ude80SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink Group 12-3\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xlzsNtCi8Zw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Of the satellites launched on this mission, 13 featured Direct-to-Cell (DTC) capabilities. Adding these satellites to orbit will enable a broader range of testing on SpaceX\u2019s DTC beta, which opened on Jan. 27. Falcon 9 placed these satellites into an orbit inclined 43 degrees after flying a southeastern trajectory out of the Cape. This mission will increase the number of working Starlink satellites in orbit to over 7,000.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the delay, this will now be the eighth launch in the Group 12 constellation. Falcon booster B1069 is supporting this mission, flying its 21st mission. It successfully landed on <i>Just Read the Instructions<\/i>, SpaceX\u2019s autonomous droneship located downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Spaceflight history books<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>SpaceX launch tickets<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>NASA mission patches<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p><b>New Shepard | NS-29<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin launched New Shepard for the NS-29 mission on Feb. 4 at 10:00 AM CST (16:00 UTC), following a scrubbed attempt on Jan. 28. The mission, which launched from Launch Site One in west Texas, delivered 30 payloads into a simulated lunar gravity environment to test them for future operations on the Moon.<\/p>\n<p>NASA provided 17 payloads for this mission, including several essential technology demonstrations needed for returning humans to the Moon, such as in-situ resource utilization, dust mitigation, advanced habitation systems, and entry and landing technologies.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104620\" class=\"wp-image-104620\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/New-Shepard-NS-27-booster-lands-in-October-2024-Credit-Blue-Origin-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/New-Shepard-NS-27-booster-lands-in-October-2024-Credit-Blue-Origin-copy.jpg 1322w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/New-Shepard-NS-27-booster-lands-in-October-2024-Credit-Blue-Origin-copy-350x154.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/New-Shepard-NS-27-booster-lands-in-October-2024-Credit-Blue-Origin-copy-630x276.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/New-Shepard-NS-27-booster-lands-in-October-2024-Credit-Blue-Origin-copy-768x337.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/New-Shepard-NS-27-booster-lands-in-October-2024-Credit-Blue-Origin-copy-1170x513.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-104620\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin\u2019s booster lands during the New Shepard NS-27 mission in October 2024. (Credit: Blue Origin)<\/p>\n<p>Each payload experienced two minutes of simulated lunar gravity. Blue Origin can simulate and sustain the Moon\u2019s gravity by using reaction control thrusters to place the New Shepard capsule, <em>RSS H.G. Wells<\/em>, into a controlled spin of 11 revolutions per minute. Previously, this was only achievable for about 20 seconds with parabolic flights. Blue Origin\u2019s method could also simulate the gravity environments of other planetary bodies, such as Mars, Europa, and others.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The NS5 booster transported the payloads to suborbital space, NS-29 serving as its second flight. Following liftoff and capsule separation, the booster landed successfully at the launch site. NS5 also carried one payload externally, with the remaining 29 payloads inside the capsule. Blue Origin have now launched over 175 commercial payloads into suborbital space using New Shepard.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104735\" class=\"wp-image-104735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NS29-Launch-Patch-Info.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1449\" height=\"761\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NS29-Launch-Patch-Info.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NS29-Launch-Patch-Info-350x184.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NS29-Launch-Patch-Info-630x331.jpeg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NS29-Launch-Patch-Info-768x403.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/NS29-Launch-Patch-Info-1170x614.jpeg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1449px) 100vw, 1449px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-104735\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NS-29 mission patch and explanation of symbols. (Credit Blue Origin)<\/p>\n<p><b>Falcon 9 | WorldView Legion 5 &amp; 6<\/b><\/p>\n<p>SpaceX will launch the WorldView Legion 5 &amp; 6 mission on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 6:07 PM EST (23:07 UTC) from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission will see Falcon 9 carry two Earth observation satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These two satellites mass 750 kg each and will allow Maxar Technologies to monitor changes on Earth\u2019s surface over an area of up to 1.5 million square km per day with a resolution of 30 cm from an altitude of around 450 km.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104734\" class=\"wp-image-104734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Two_WVL_mated_with_dispenser_people_present_L1_approved_by_Maxar_Compliance__SpaceX__AstroTech_960x960.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1085\" height=\"1085\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Two_WVL_mated_with_dispenser_people_present_L1_approved_by_Maxar_Compliance__SpaceX__AstroTech_960x960.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Two_WVL_mated_with_dispenser_people_present_L1_approved_by_Maxar_Compliance__SpaceX__AstroTech_960x960-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Two_WVL_mated_with_dispenser_people_present_L1_approved_by_Maxar_Compliance__SpaceX__AstroTech_960x960-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1085px) 100vw, 1085px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-104734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two WorldView Legion satellites on a dispenser. (Credit: Maxar Technologies)<\/p>\n<p>The booster launching this mission, B1086, will fly for the fourth time. It will then return to the launch site to land a few miles south of LC-39A at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). This will mark SpaceX\u2019s 450th mission overall.<\/p>\n<p><b>Soyuz 2.1v\/Volga | Kosmos (Unknown Payload)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The return of Soyuz in 2025 included the successful launch of classified military satellites on Feb. 5 at 3:00 UTC from Site 43\/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. While the specifics of the satellites remain unknown and likely will continue to be unknown, it is confirmed that Soyuz targeted an orbit with an inclination of 82.5 degrees.<\/p>\n<p>Soyuz can launch communication satellites into a 1,400-km orbit inclined at 82.5 degrees, which aligns with the orbits of the classified Rodnik communications satellites ordered by Russia in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"White House Proposes Space Based Interceptors  | This Week in Spaceflight\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kzg0yCgDiwg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid1\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 12-9<\/b><\/p>\n<p>SpaceX launched its second batch of Starlink Group 12 satellites this week on Feb. 8 at 2:18 PM EST (19:18 UTC) from SLC-40 at CCSFS. Another batch of 21 Starlink v2 Mini satellites were taken to a 43-degree inclined orbit on a southeastern trajectory. This batch of Starlink satellites feature 13 DTC-capable satellites.<\/p>\n<p>The booster that launched this mission is B1078 which was successful on its 17th attempt. It landed on one of SpaceX\u2019s autonomous droneship, <em>A Shortfall of Gravitas,<\/em> in the Atlantic Ocean after delivering the second stage to a nominal orbit.<\/p>\n<p><b>Electron \/ Curie | IoT 4 You and Me<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Rocket Lab launched five nanosatellites for the French company Kin\u00e9is on Feb. 8 at 15:43 UTC. The launch was delayed because a Collision On Launch Avoidance\/Assessment that deemed it unsafe for the Electron rocket to enter low-Earth orbit on Feb. 3 due to potential debris collisions. The rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1A (LC-1A) on the M\u0101hia Peninsula in New Zealand. This mission marks the fourth batch of Kin\u00e9is IoT satellites to be launched into orbit on Electron.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-104733\" class=\"wp-image-104733 size-full\" style=\"width: 731.5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-525x350.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-1920x1280.jpeg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-1170x780.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-585x390.jpeg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Rocket-Lab-Electron-IoT-4-You-and-Me-263x175.jpeg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-104733\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electron is rolled to the launch pad at LC-1A. (Credit: Rocket Lab)<\/p>\n<p>Satellites 16 through 20 launched on this flight and were deployed into a 650 km LEO using Rocket Lab\u2019s Curie upper stage. Each satellite weighs 30 kg, once activated in orbit will enhance the global Internet of Things connectivity. This was Rocket Lab\u2019s first flight of the year, with the company aiming to exceed the 16 launches it achieved in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 11-10<\/p>\n<p>The final Starlink mission of this week lifted off from Vandenburg Space Force Base on Monday, Feb. 10, at 6:09 PM PST (23:46 UTC). Launching from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), booster B1071 flew for the 23rd time, taking another batch of Starlink v2 Mini satellites to a 53-degree inclined orbit on a southeastern trajectory. This booster landed on the only droneship stationed on the west coast, <em>Of Course I Still Love You. <\/em>This successful mission marked SpaceX\u2019s 18th mission of the year, with many more to come<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: New Shepard lifting off from launch pad one in West Texas, on Feb. 4, 2025. Credit: Blue Origin)<\/em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-96431\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/L2-Memberships2_1920x1080-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1095\" height=\"616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/L2-Memberships2_1920x1080-1.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/L2-Memberships2_1920x1080-1-350x197.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/L2-Memberships2_1920x1080-1-622x350.png 622w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/L2-Memberships2_1920x1080-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/L2-Memberships2_1920x1080-1-1170x658.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1095px) 100vw, 1095px\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week\u2019s launch manifest is quite diverse, featuring the launches of four different rockets worldwide. Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital rocket has simulated the Moon\u2019s gravity from just beyond the K\u00e1rm\u00e1n line, and Rocket Lab launched Electron for the first time this year from New Zealand. Russia launched Soyuz for the first time in 2025 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[509,1715,1076,8174,545,479,1084,190,1250,544,1302,316,440,8122,3732],"class_list":["post-23880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-blue-origin","tag-curie","tag-direct-to-cell","tag-dtc","tag-electron","tag-falcon-9","tag-maxar","tag-nasa","tag-new-shepard","tag-rocket-lab","tag-soyuz","tag-spacex","tag-starlink","tag-starlink-dtc","tag-volga"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}