The Weekly Rocket Report #53

11/24/2025-11/30/2025

Ricky Whitmore

Space Writer

Hello and Happy Monday everyone!  Monday, you know what that means?  Its time for The Weekly Rocket Report!  Let’s jump right into the action shall we:

We begin the week in China with a backup launch.  Shenzhou 22 was launched aboard a Long March 2F/G.  The uncrewed mission was launched, uncrewed to replace a damaged spacecraft, Shenzhou 20, attached to Tiangong Space Station.  Shenzhou 20 was apparently damaged by micrometeoroids and deemed unsafe for crewed return.  The crew from Shenzhou 20 therefore returned aboard the craft that launched the Shenzhou 21 crew.  The Shenzhou 21 crew will then be returned on the uncrewed spacecraft launched Monday night. 

Long March 2 launches Shenzhou 22. Photo Credit: CNSA.

Moving over to Russia, an Angara 1.2 rocket was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome Tuesday morning.  The rocket was carrying Cosmos 2597-2599, which are thought to be “Strela” Communication satellites. 

Angara launches Cosmos 2597-2599. Photo Credit: Russian Defense Ministry.

South Korea got into the mix Wednesday morning, with KARI launching a KSLV-2 rocket from the Naro Space Center.  The main payload, CAS500-3 is an earth observation satellite operated by the Korean Ministry of Science.  Also attached to the rocket were 12 cubesats, created by various companies and institutions across South Korea.  This is the first, and likely only launch of KSLV-2 in 2025. 

KSLV-2 launches CAS500-3 and others. Photo Credit: KARI.

Thursday morning we got to see another space station launch, this bound for the International Space Station.  Soyuz 2.1a blasted off carrying the crew of Soyuz MS-28 to the orbiting laboratory.  The crew consisted of Russian Cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikayev, as well as NASA Astronaut Christopher Williams.  Following the successful launch, it was discovered there was damage to one of the maintenance structures below the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome.  Depending on the severity and the timetable for repairs, this could put the historic Pad 31/6, the only Russian pad capable of ISS missions, out of commission for quite some time. 

Soyuz 2.1a launches Soyuz MA-28. Photo Credit: Roscosmos.

Now to the US for the only US launch of the week.  Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg on the mission Transporter 15.  The rideshare mission, bound for Sun Synchronous Orbit, carried 140 payloads from various agencies and companies across the globe.  Following staging the first stage booster flew back to Earth, landing on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You”. 

Falcon 9 launches Transporter 15. Photo Credit: SpaceX.

The final launch of the week was Shijian 28, which launched from Wenchang Launch Site aboard a Long March 7A Rocket.  Shijian 28 is a classified Chinese military satellite, which as usual, very little is known about. 

Long March 7 launches Shijian 28. Photo Credit: https://x.com/CNSpaceflight.

That is all the launches for the week my friends.  Kind of rare anymore to go an entire week and see only one launch from US soil.  That will likely change next week as I see at least 4 Falcon 9s scheduled for liftoff, as well as Vega C, Hyperbola, Electron, and H3.  Should make for an exciting week, which I will be here to discuss, 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)