Launch week: May 26–June 1, 2026

Six confirmed orbital launches are on the manifest for May 26–June 1. The week's headlines are Atlas V's penultimate Amazon Kuiper mission and South Korea's first orbital full-vehicle solid-fuel SLV demo from Jeju Island. SpaceX fills the rest of the calendar with three Falcon 9 Starlink flights, and China sends a classified payload to GTO aboard Long March 7A. No launches from Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, or ISRO fall within this window.

All times UTC. Windows and status are subject to change; verify final T-0 with operator webcasts before the countdown.

This flight has accumulated the week's most turbulent pre-launch history: it slipped on May 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 23, and 24 before landing on May 26. 2 The 24-satellite SSO batch targets polar shell 17. Booster B1100 is on its second flight.

The CZ-7A is a three-stage liquid-fuelled rocket with a 7-tonne GTO capacity — the right vehicle for the heavy end of China's classified satellite catalog. Next Spaceflight notes "payload identities highly uncertain." 3 Past CZ-7A missions have carried TJS-series technology-verification satellites and Zhongxing-series military communications satellites, both bound for geostationary orbit. This is the 15th CZ-7A launch overall and the vehicle's first mission of 2026. CASC typically confirms payload identity in a brief post-launch statement, usually within an hour of liftoff.

Booster B1085 reaches its 16th flight on this mission — one of the higher flight-count vehicles currently active. The 29-satellite LEO batch replenishes shell 10. 2

Amazon Leo LA-07 is the seventh of eight Atlas V flights Amazon purchased for Project Kuiper, and the penultimate before ULA's Atlas V retirement. The 551 configuration uses five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage — the heaviest Atlas V variant, appropriate for a 16,800 kg payload. 5

The mission was originally targeted for May 22 and slipped about a week to fix a flight component. Across the first six Amazon Leo missions, ULA has delivered 168 Kuiper satellites to orbit. 6 The window carries a pending-range-approval flag; ULA will confirm GO/NO-GO in the hours before T-0.

Booster B1082 reaches its 22nd flight on this mission — among the highest reuse counts in the current Falcon 9 fleet. The 45-day turnaround from its previous flight is within SpaceX's standard cadence. 2 Another 24-satellite SSO batch to shell 17.

This is the most mission-critical launch of the week for anyone tracking national space programs. The ADD SLV has completed two sub-orbital stage tests (March and December 2022) and one partial orbital test without the second stage (December 2023). 8 Sunday's attempt is the first flight of the complete four-stage vehicle.

A successful launch would give South Korea an indigenous solid-fuel rapid-response orbital launch capability — the kind of quick-turnaround military satellite access that China and the US already hold. The offshore Jeju platform allows a southeastward trajectory clear of the Korean Peninsula. Next Spaceflight notes the vehicle name is still provisional and post-launch confirmation from DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration) is the expected official channel. 9

Five missions remain unconfirmed for the May 26–June 1 window and are tracking toward various points in June. None has a firm date as of May 25.

Two of the five carry stakes beyond launch cadence: "Onward and Upward" would be the first orbital launch from continental Europe (the UK has launched from a Scottish pad, but no mainland European rocket has reached orbit), and the Swift Rescue Mission would be the first demonstrated in-orbit reboost of an operational NASA science observatory by a commercial servicer.