The Weekly Rocket Report #42
09/08/2025-09/14/2025
Ricky Whitmore
Space Writer
Hello all and welcome back to The Weekly Rocket Report! Quite a week so as usual we will jump right into the action.
We begin the week in China with the launch of Jielong 3. The rocket was carrying Geely Constellation Group 5, a group of communication satellites used for Geely’s automated car fleet.
Staying in China, a few hours later Long March 7A launched Yaogan 45. Yaogan 45 is a Chinese Military satellite claimed to be for “remote sensing”
Long March 7A launches Yoagan 45. Photo Credit: https://x.com/CNSpaceflight.
Wednesday we head back to the United States where Falcon 9 launched Tranche 1 Transport Layer B. This grouping of 21 satellites is designed and launched for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, and will provide data and connectivity to the US military. Following the initial ascent and stage separation the Falcon Booster returned to Earth and landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You”.
Falcon 9 launches Tranche 1 Transport Layer B. Photo Credit: SpaceX.
The ISS had quite a week this week, receiving two cargo resupply missions visiting. The first of these was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Thursday morning. Soyuz 2.1a launched the Progress spacecraft on Progress MS-32.
Soyuz 2.1a launches Progress MS-32. Photo Credit: Roscosmos.
Thursday night we return to Falcon 9, which launch the much delayed Nusantara Lima mission. The payload is an Indonesian communication satellite. Following stage separation the first stage returned to Earth, landing down range on the drone ship “A Shortfall Of Gravitas”.
Friday night saw a rarity, a second Soyuz launch in a week. This time Soyuz 2.1b launched Cosmos 2595 and 2596. Cosmos 2595 was a Glonass satellite, a Russian radio navigation satellite. Cosmos 2596 was an experimental military satellite.
Speaking of rarities, there was only one Starlink launch this week, and it came Saturday afternoon when Falcon 9 launched Starlink Group 17-10 to orbit. The 24 satellites were deployed successfully and the first stage booster returned to Earth, landing on the drone ship “Of Course I still Love You”.
The final launch of the week was the previously mentioned second launch to the ISS. Falcon 9 launched CRS NG-23 to the station. Following the rocket’s stage separation the booster returned to the launch site, landing at LZ-2. Of note, this Cygnus capsule, designed by Northrop Grumman was named the “S.S. William C. “Willie” McCool” after astronaut William McCool who was tragically killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, STS-107.
Falcon 9 launches CRS NG-23. Photo Credit: SpaceX.
There we have it everyone. Double Soyuz launches, double ISS launches, what a week it was indeed. A fair warning, I will likely be late on my report next week, as I am out of town until Wednesday, but definitely plan on having it by Wednesday night! I will look to see you all then, on The Weekly Rocket Report!
As always feel free to write to me at rickyew2112@gmail.com, or find me on X @Rickyew2112
Sic Itur Ad Astra
(Thus They Journey to the Stars)