Here is your one-stop shop for space launches with our April launch schedule! This month sees at least 119 satellites launched, 2 launches to space stations and 1 spacecraft launch. Read on to find out more!
Last updated: May 9th 2022
Satellite Launches
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 1st Transporter 4 : The Transporter 4 mission will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida at 17:24 BST. It will fly to a sun-synchronous orbit and will rideshare with several microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 2nd BlackSky 16 & 17 : 2 2nd generation satellites launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket for BlackSky, on a mission nicknamed “Without Mission A Beat”. It will launch from the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand at 13:41 BST. Delayed from September, December, February 4th and 13th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 7th Gaofen 3-03 : A Chinese Long March 4C rocket launches the Gaofen 3-03 radar Earth observation satellite from Jiuquan, China at 00:47 BST.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 7th Lotos-S1 : A Lotos electronic intelligence spy satellite is launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia at 12:20 BST. It will be launched aboard a Russian government Soyuz rocket.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 15th Chinasat 6D : A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launches from Xichang, China at 13:00 BST. It will carry the Chinasat 6D (Zhongxing 6D) communication satellite for China Satcom.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 15th Daqi 1 : China launch the Daqi 1 atmospheric environmental monitoring satellite from Taiyuan, China at 19:16 BST. It will launch aboard a Chinese Long March 4C rocket.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 17th NROL-85 : Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office launches from the Vandenburg Space Force Base, California at 14:13 BST. Delayed from April 16th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 21st Starlink 4-14 : The next batch of 53 Starlink internet satellites launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida at 16:14 BST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 29th Siwei 01 & 02 : China launch the Siwei 01 and 02 satellites aboard a Chinese Long March 2C rocket from Jiuquan, China at 05:11 BST. The satellites are for China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 29th EMKA : From the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia, the small EMKA military reconnaissance satellite launches aboard a Russian government Angara 1.2 rocket at 20:55 BST. Delayed from April 27th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 29th Starlink 4-16 : SpaceX launch another batch of 53 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida AT 22:27 BST.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 30th Jilin 1 Gaofen 03D & Jilin 1 Gaofen 04A : Launching from an ocean platform off the Chinese coast, a Chinese Long March 11H rocket will carry 7 Jilin 1 Earth observation satellites for Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd at 04:30 BST. Delayed from April 27th.
Launches to Space Stations
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 8th Axiom Mission 1 : A Crew Dragon Spacecraft launches on its 6th crewed flight aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Managed by Axiom Space, it will launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 16:17 BST and take former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría and paying passengers Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe to the International Space Station. Delayed from February 21st, March 30th, April 3rd and 6th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 27th Crew 4 : The 7th crewed flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines and Jessica Watkins and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti to the International Space Station. It will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 08:52 BST. Delayed from April 23rd and 26th.
Spacecraft Launches
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 29th MKA-R : The first orbital launch attempt of the Russian government Angara 1.2 rocket will launch the MKA-R spacecraft from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia at 20:55 BST. Delayed from April 27th