Although we are already a third of the way through June with just a single launch completed, the rest of the month promises several more to look forward to. Currently, an additional 6 missions have been confirmed for June 2019 with several more unconfirmed launches also expected to lift off this month. As is with all orbital rocket launches, all the dates and times featured below are subject to change.
Falcon 9 (RADARSAT Constellation) – 12 June
The RADARSAT Constellation is comprised of three Canadian Earth observation satellites that will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. It will be launched from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California at 14:17 UTC. The Falcon 9 that will be utilised for the launch is flight proven and was previously used to launch the company’s Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission in March.
Ariane 5 (VA248) – 20 June
An Ariane 5 will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre French Guiana carrying the Eutelsat 7C satellite for Eutelsat and the AT&T T-16 satellite for DirecTV. VA248 is expected to lift off at 21:41 UTC and will be the 104th flight of the Ariane 5 rocket.
Proton-M (Spektr-RG) – 21 June
A Proton-M rocket equipped with a Blok DM-03 upper stage will lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying the Spektr-RG space observatory at 12:17 UTC. The Spektr-RG is a joint venture between the Russian Space Research Institute and the German Aerospace Center. It is set to act as a replacement of the Spektr-R telescope launched in 2011 and is designed to conduct a 4-year x-ray survey to detect new clusters of galaxies and active galactic nuclei.
Long March 4B (4B-Y39) – 22 June
Three Earth observations satellites will be launched aboard a Long March 4B from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Two of the three satellites, BNU-1 and Tianyi MV-1 are being launched on behalf of the Beijing Normal University. The third will be launched on behalf of the People’s Liberation Army and is likely a spy satellite. A specific launch window for the mission has yet to be announced.
Falcon Heavy (STP-2) – 23 June
STP-2 is the second operational mission of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. The rocket will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 03:30 UTC. The flight is a rideshare mission with 25 small satellites being launched at once. Included among the host of other satellites are the LightSail 2, COSMIC-2 (a cluster of six satellites) and the Deep Space Atomic Clock, which is a miniaturised, ultra-precise mercury-ion atomic clock for precise radio navigation in deep space.
Atlas V (AEHF-5) – 27 June
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency 5 (AEHF-5) satellite will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral. The AEHF-5 satellite was developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to relay secure communications for the United States Armed Forces. A specific launch window for the mission has yet to be announced.
Electron (Make it Rain) – TBD
Although not yet confirmed, the third Rocket Lab Electron mission of 2019 is expected to be launched in June. Designated Make it Rain, the mission will carry the BlackSky Global 4 earth observation satellite, two USSOCOM Prometheus technology demonstration payloads and the ACRUX-1 engineering demonstrator developed by the University of Melbourne. The rocket will be launched from the company’s launch facility in New Zealand.
LauncherOne (Flight Test) – TBD
Virgin Orbit is hoping to launch the maiden orbital test flight of the LauncherOne rocket. The rocket is designed to be carried to its launch altitude under the wing of Cosmic Girl, a modified Boeing 747-400. The LauncherOne’s maiden flight had initially been scheduled for 2017. However, the development of the rocket has suffered several delays. Following a successful maiden flight, Virgin Orbit hopes to launch an additional two LauncherOne mission this year.
Proton-M (Eutelsat 5 & MEV-1) – TBD
A Proton-M equipped with a Briz-M P4 upper stage will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying the Eutelsat 5 West B satellite and the MEV-1 spacecraft. The Eutelsat 5 West B is a communications satellite developed for the French telecommunications company Eutelsat. The Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV-1) is a joint venture between US aerospace firms Northrup Grumman and ATK. The vehicle is a small-scale in-space satellite refuelling spacecraft designed to extend the life of aging satellites.
PSLV-CA (C47) – TBD
C47 is expected to be the fourth PSLV mission of 2019. The rocket will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India carrying the Cartosat-3 Earth observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the NEMO-AM Earth observation satellite, a joint venture between the University of Toronto and the ISRO.
Rokot (Gonets 14, 15 & 16) – TBD
A Rokot vehicle equipped with a Briz-KM upper stage is expected to be launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome carrying three Gonets-M communications satellites and the BLITS-M laser ranging satellite, which is essentially just a multilayered glass sphere.
