Plenty of Space for Four Launches in August

August 2, 2023 – Based on the schedule, August should be a great month for space exploration. As of now, there are launches scheduled for August 3 (just after midnight tonight), August 17, August 29 and August 31.

Three of the four involve SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets which deliver payloads to space while the reusable parts of the craft return to Earth for a soft landing.

Tonight’s launch will lift a Galaxy 37 satellite which will contribute to Intelsat’s build-out of a robust 5G wireless broadband infrastructure for American clients.

Borisov, Mogensen,  Moghbeli and Furukawa. Image Credit: SpaceX

The August 17 launch, also a SpaceX Falcon 9, will have an international crew aboard, traveling to the ISS. The astronauts are from four agencies: one each from NASA, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos.

Then United Launch Alliance takes center stage on August 29, when the company will send up Atlas 5 for a classified collaboration between the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. Its goal is to provide satellite threat intelligence and space situational awareness.

And two days later, on August 31, SpaceX is again in the driver’s seat, with another Falcon 9 set to deliver another shipment of Starlink satellites to orbit.  As of July 2023, there are currently 4,519 of these satellites in orbit. Starlink already is offering high-speed internet service to most of the Americas, Europe and Australia, with coverage of the rest of the world in the works.

It’s an exciting time on the Space Coast.