Here is your one-stop shop for space launches with our December launch schedule. This month sees at least 150 satellites launched, 2 launches to space stations, 2 spacecraft launched, and 1 test flight. Read on to find out more!
Last updated: January 5th 2022
Satellite Launches
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 2nd Starlink 4-3 : 48 Starlink satellites are launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida at 23:12 GMT. They will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket alongside 2 BlackSky Earth observation satellites. Delayed from December 1st.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 5th Galileo 27 & 28 : Designated VS26, an Arianespace Soyuz rocket launches 2 Galileo full operational capability satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation constellation. It will launch from Sinnamary, French Guiana at 00:19 GMT. Delayed from mid-2021, September, November 22nd and 30th, December 1st and 2nd. Scrubbed on December 3rd due to lightning risk.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 7th STP-3 : The STP-3 mission launches aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket for the U.S. Space Force and will contain the STPSat 6 satellite and some small satellites. It will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida between 09:04 and 11:04 GMT. Delayed from February 26th, June 23rd, September, November 22nd, December 4th and 5th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 8th BlackSky 14 & 15 : BlackSky launch 2 second-generation satellites aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the Mahia Peninusla, New Zealand. They will be part of their Earth observation fleet. Delayed from September, October, November and December 7th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 10th Shijian 6-05 : Launched aboard a Chinese Long March 4B rocket, the Shijian 6-05A and Shijian-05B satellites life off from Jiuquan, China.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 13th Express AMU3 & Express AMU7 : A Russian government Proton rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 12:07 GMT. It will launch the Express AMU3 and Express AMU7 communications satellites for the Russian Satellite Communications Company, which were built by ISS Reshetnev with telecom payloads from Thales Alenia Space. Delayed from December 6th and 12th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 18th Starlink 4-4 : 52 Starlink satellites are launched to a high inclination orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will launch from the Vandenburg Space Force Base, California at 12:41 GMT. Delayed from October 17th and December 17th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 19th Turksat 5B : The Turksat 5B satellite is launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for Turksat. Built by Airbus Defence and Space with Turkish contributions, it will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida at 03:58 GMT. Delayed from June.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 22nd Inmarsat 6 F1 : Airbus Defense and Space built the Inmarsat 6 F1 communications satellite which will launch from the Tanegashima Space Center, Japan at 15:32 GMT. It will launch aboard a Japanese H-2A rocket. Delayed from December 21st.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS Shiyan 12-01 and 12-02 : 2 Shiyan 12 satellites launch into a geostationary transfer orbit aboard a Chinese Long March 7A rocket from Wenchang, China at 10:12 GMT. The satellites’ details are classified.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 27th OneWeb 12 : An Russian Soyuz rocket launches 36 OneWeb satellites for their broadband network. They will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 13:10 GMT.
Launches to Space Stations
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 8th ISS 66S : A crewed Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft launches to the International Space Station aboard a Russian government Soyuz rocket. It will carry cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and space tourists Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano and launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan at 07:38 GMT. Delayed from September 22nd.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 21st SpaceX CRS 24 : SpaceX launch the Dragon 2 spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on its 4th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. This marks SpaceX’s 24th mission under their Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. It will launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 10:06 GMT. Delayed from December 4th.
Spacecraft Launches
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 9th IXPE : NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) launches aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida between 06:00 and 07:30 GMT. Delayed from November 17th. Moved forward from December 13th.
- LAUNCH SUCCESS 25th James Webb Space Telescope : The largest space telescope ever, the James Webb Space Telescope will launch from Kourou, French Guiana at 12:20 GMT. Intended to replace and improve on the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST was developed by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency and will operate at the L2 Lagrange point. It will launch aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, developed by Arianespace and designated VA256. Delayed from October 31st, November, December 18th, 22nd and 24th.
Test Flights
- PARTIAL LAUNCH SUCCESS 27th Test Flight : The 3rd orbital test flight of a Russian government Angara-A5 rocket launches from the Plesetsk Cosmosdrome, Russia at 15:00 GMT carrying an unidentified payload. Delayed from December 23rd. The rocket was stranded in a lower than planned orbit as the upper stage failed to complete its burns.