On Thursday, October 23 SpaceX’s Falcon 9’s launched the SpainSat NG II mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The SpainSat NG I & II replace the current SpainSat and XTAR-EUR providing advances in communications to reinforce their capabilities, security levels and resilience. They will have a useful life of about 15 years, which means that they will be fully operational until the 2040 threshold. Photo captured by Satnews.
SpainSat NG II is the second of two advanced satellites built by Airbus, designed to deliver secure, military-grade communications for the Spanish government and its allies and is Hisdesat’s largest project since its foundation.
The new Spainsat NG generation will multiply by 16 times the capacity in X- and Ka- military band and adds a new payload in UHF band and will operate with active X-band antennas in receive and transmit.
Due to the additional performance required to deliver this payload to orbit, this will be the 22nd and final flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, SES O3b mPOWER-C, Ovzon-3, Eutelsat 26D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2, SXM-9, and 12 Starlink missions.
The SpainSat NG II mission will not use a droneship because the Falcon 9 booster will be expended.
UPDATE: Wednesday Starlink smallsats Group 11-5 launched, Thursday for SpainSat NGII + Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Starlink launches from both coasts
Early Wednesday, October 22 at 7:16 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 28 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
This was the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARah-2, Transporter-11, and now 18 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Falcon 9 set to launch SpainSat NG II for secure military communications on Thursday from the Cape
SpaceX is now targeting Thursday, October 23 for Falcon 9’s launch of the SpainSat NG II mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The four-hour window opens at 9:30 p.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Friday, October 24 at the same time.
SpainSat NG II is the second of two advanced satellites built by Airbus, designed to deliver secure, military-grade communications for the Spanish government and its allies.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
Due to the additional performance required to deliver this payload to orbit, this will be the 22nd and final flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, SES O3b mPOWER-C, Ovzon-3, Eutelsat 26D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2, SXM-9, and 12 Starlink missions.
Saturday planned for Starlink smallsats Group 11-12 to launch from California
On Saturday, October 25, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California from 7 – 11 A.M. PDT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
This is the 19th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter-13, TRACERS, NROL-48, and nine Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
Sunday planned for Starlink smallsats Group 10-21 to launch from the Cape
On Sunday, October 26 SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida from 7:05 – 11:05 A.M. PDT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
This will be the 24th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20, TD7, and 16 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Monday planned for Starlink smallsats Group 11-21 to launch from California
On Monday, October 27, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California from 2:12 – 6:12 P.M.PDT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
This is the 17th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20, NROL-145, and 13 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
Tuesday planned for Starlink smallsats Group 10-37 to launch from the Cape
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 29 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida from 6:14 – 10:14 A.M. PDT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
This will be the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, IM-2, Commercial GTO-1, and eight Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean..
SpaceX plans 2 Wednesday launches: Starlink smallsat Group 11-5 + SpainSat NGII from both coasts
Group 11-5 with 28 Starlink smallsats to launch from California
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink smallsats Group 11-5 to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SDA-0A, SARah-2, Transporter-11, and now 17 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
Falcon 9 set to launch SpainSat NG II for secure military communications from the Cape
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, October 22 for Falcon 9’s launch of the SpainSat NG II mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The four-hour window opens at 9:30 p.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Thursday, October 23 at the same time.
In April 2019, Hisdesat contracted Airbus to enhance the Spainsat fleet and build the Spainsat Next Generation (NG) satellites. SpainSat NG-I was launched at end of January 2025 and SpainSat NG-II is planned for Wednesday.
Spainsat NG is a constellation of satellites providing military grade secure communications to the Spanish Armed Forces and its partners. The state of the art technology in the domain of flexible payloads makes this tri-band satellite in X, Ka and UHF bands particularly useful in providing critical communication services over two thirds of the Earth.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
Due to the additional performance required to deliver this payload to orbit, this will be the 22nd and final flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e, SES O3b mPOWER-C, Ovzon-3, Eutelsat 26D, Turksat 6A, Maxar 2, SXM-9, and 12 Starlink missions.