Launch Preview: Soyuz, CZ-8A, and Falcon 9 to launch from sites around the world

Date:
Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:15:34 +0000

Description:
Five orbital launches are expected this week. Two Falcon 9s are expected to launch from The post Launch Preview: Soyuz, CZ-8A, and Falcon 9 to launch
from sites around the world appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Five orbital launches are expected this week. Two Falcon 9s are expected to launch from Florida and California, delivering three O3b mPOWER satellites
and the USSF-153 payload, respectively. Internationally, a Soyuz 2.1b will deliver the Progress MS-35 spacecraft to the International Space Station, while a Chinese Chang Zheng 2D/YZ-3 and Chang Zheng 8A are expected to
deliver unspecified payloads.



Chang Zheng 2D/YZ-3 | Unknown Payload

The weeks first launch is a Chang Zheng 2D/YZ-3 (CZ-2D/YZ-3) scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9. The three-stage rocket will launch from Site 94 (SLS-2)
at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China, with liftoff set at 10:00
UTC within a 21-minute window that opens at 9:52 UTC. The rocket will follow
a southeasterly trajectory to deliver an unknown payload to an unspecified orbit.

The CZ-2D/YZ-3 vehicle is a three-stage, 40.77-m-tall medium-lift vehicle capable of delivering 3,500 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and 1,200 kg to geostationary transfer orbit. The first stage is powered by four YF-21C gas-generator engines fueled by dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH). The second stage is powered by a single YF-24C engine, which is also a gas-generator-cycle engine that uses the same propellants. The optional third stage, YZ-3, features a single restartable YF-50D engine fueled by N2O4 and UDMH. The launch will mark the rockets 5th mission of 2026.



Soyuz 2.1b | Progress MS-35

A Soyuz 2.1b rocket is set to launch the Progress MS-35 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
on Sept. 9. The rocket will launch during an instantaneous launch window at 16:15 UTC and follow a northeasterly trajectory.

The Progress MS-35 spacecraft is expected to arrive on Sept. 11 and dock at the stations Poisk zenith port at approximately 18:37 UTC, delivering 2,600
kg of cargo to the ISS. This will be the 188th flight of a Russian Progress vehicle.

Soyuz 2.1b is a three-stage medium-lift vehicle that features four RD-107A boosters wrapped around the second, or core, stage, which is powered by a single RD-108D engine. The third stage is powered by a single RD-0124 engine. Kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX) power all the vehicles stages. The 46.3-m-tall vehicle has a liftoff thrust of 4,550 kN.

The mission will be the sixth mission of 2026 for the Soyuz 2.1b.



Falcon 9 | USSF-153

The first Falcon 9 mission of the week is expected from Space Launch Complex
4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 10. Falcon 9 is expected to launch during a three-hour launch window that begins at 8:37 AM PDT, following a southeasterly trajectory to LEO following launch and delivering the classified USSF-153 payload to orbit for the United States Space Force.

Falcon 9s first stage, B1081, will be on its 27th flight and will be
recovered downrange in the Pacific Ocean by SpaceXs autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). This booster has previously supported the Crew-8, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter 10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter 13, TRACERS & Others, NROL-48, CSG-3, and 16 Starlink missions.

SpaceXs Falcon 9 is a two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle powered by a reusable first stage utilizing nine Merlin sea-level engines fueled by RP-1 and LOX. The expendable second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine, also fueled by RP-1 and LOX. Chang Zheng 8A lifts off on its maiden launch from Wenchang. (Credit: SpaceLens)

Chang Zheng 8A | Unknown Payload

The final international mission of the week is a Chang Zheng 8A (CZ-8A)
launch from Commercial Launch Complex-1 (Commercial LC-1) at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China on Sept. 11. The vehicle will launch on a southeasterly trajectory during a four-hour window beginning at 16:00 UTC, delivering an unspecified payload to an unknown orbit.

The CZ-8A vehicle is a 50.5-m-tall, two-stage vehicle, capable of delivering 8,100 kg to LEO. The vehicle has dual strap-on boosters, each powered by a YF-100 engine, around a first stage that features two YF-100 engines, all of which are fueled by RP-1 and LOX. The rockets second stage is powered by two YF-75H engines fueled by liquid hydrogen (LH2) and LOX. The vehicle has a total liftoff thrust of 4,894 kN.

The mission will be the 11th overall mission for the CZ-8A, and the fifth of 2026.

Falcon 9 | O3b mPOWER 11, 12 & 13

The final launch of the week is a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on Sunday, Sept. 13. The vehicle will launch on a southeasterly trajectory to medium-Earth orbit (MEO), with a one-hour and 37-minute launch window beginning at 2:50 PM EDT.

Falcon 9 will deliver three O3b mPOWER satellites for SES, a Luxembourg-based satellite operator. The currently unknown booster will land downrange on SpaceXs droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG).

This mission will be Falcon 9s 688th overall launch and 105th of 2026. Furthermore, this mission will serve as the 217th overall orbital launch attempt of 2026.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



The post Launch Preview: Soyuz, CZ-8A, and Falcon 9 to launch from sites around the world appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/09/launch-preview-090726/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100)