Launch Preview: Long March 10B and Vikram-I debut

Date:
Mon, 06 Jul 2026 21:45:21 +0000

Description:
Six orbital launches are scheduled internationally this week. Three Falcon 9 flights are expected from The post Launch Preview: Long March 10B and
Vikram-I debut appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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

Six orbital launches are scheduled internationally this week. Three Falcon 9 flights are expected from Florida and California, including Transporter 17
and two Starlinks. Internationally, there are two debut rockets on the manifest: Chang Zhang 10B from China and Vikram-I from Skyroot, an Indian aerospace company.



Falcon 9 | Transporter 17

The first launch of the week is expected from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, July 7, with a 90-minute launch window opening at 00:10 PDT (07:10 UTC). The rocket will launch on a southerly trajectory to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

The flights booster, B1097, will be on its eleventh mission, and SpaceXs autonomous droneship will recover it downrange in the Pacific Ocean.B1097 previously supported seven Starlink missions and the Twilight rideshare mission.

The vehicle will be delivering 81 payloads on SpaceXs second Transporter rideshare mission in 2026. SpaceXs smallsat rideshare program enables cheaper access to space, with up to 50 kg to SSO costing $350,000.

The launch will be SpaceXs 81st mission of 2026 and 691st mission overall. Starlink satellites in orbit (Credit: SpaceX)

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-42

SpaceXs second launch of the week is from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida on Thursday, July
9. A four-hour launch window begins 5:05 AM EDT (10:05 UTC) with the rocket launching on a north-easterly trajectory inclined by 53 degrees to low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Falcon 9s fleet leader B1067 will be on its 36th flight, and SpaceXs
droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) will recover the booster downrange
in the Atlantic Ocean. B1067 has previously supported NASAs Crew-3 and
Crew-4, alongside a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Chang Zheng 10B | Demo Flight

A Chang Zheng 10B rocket is expected to debut this week from Commercial
Launch Complex-2 (LC-2) at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China. The
launch is expected during a 2-hour-7-minute launch window beginning at 05:20 UTC. The two-stage rocket will launch on a southeasterly trajectory to an unknown orbit.

The vehicle, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), is a partially reusable medium-lift rocket derived from technologies from the Long March 10A. The multi-stage vehicle can deliver 16,000 kg of payload to LEO, with the recoverable first stage powered by
seven YF-100K engines fueled by kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX).

The second stage of the vehicle has a single gas-generator cycle YF-219
engine fueled by methane (CH4) and LOX. The vehicle has 8,750 kN of total thrust at liftoff. Long March 10B at the Wenchang Space Launch Site (Credit: CASC)

Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 17-48

Falcon 9s final mission of the week is scheduled from SLC-4E at the
Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday, July 9. A four-hour launch window begins at 7:00 PM PDT (Saturday, July 10 at 02:00 UTC). The Falcon 9 will launch on a southerly trajectory inclined by 70 degrees to SSO, delivering 24 Starlink v2-mini satellites under Group 17 of the SpaceX constellation.

The second stage, veteran B1071, will be on its 35th mission and will be recovered downrange in the Pacific Ocean by SpaceXs droneship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISILY). B1017 has previously supported four Transporter and 20 Starlink missions.

SpaceXs two-stage partially reusable vehicle utilizes 9 Merlin 1D sea-level engines fueled by RP-1 and LOX. A single vacuum-optimised Merlin 1D engine is also powered by RP-1 and LOX.

Gravity 1 | Unknown Payload

A Gravity 1 rocket developed by OrionSpace from China is scheduled to launch from the Haiyang offshore launch location at the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport
in China. The vehicle will launch on a southerly trajectory to LEO with an undisclosed payload.

The four-stage Gravity 1 rocket is launched from a sea launch platform in the Yellow Sea and has seven solid-rocket boosters. At liftoff, the first four boosters ignite, followed by the activation of an additional center booster after the initial four detach. The upper stages also utilize solid rocket propellant. Measuring 29.4 meters in length, this vehicle can carry 6,500 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 4,200 kg to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

The mission will be Gravity 1s first mission of 2026 and 3rd overall.
Vikram-I at the assembly building (Credit: Skyroot Aerospace)

Vikram-I | Aagaman (Demo Flight)

The final launch of the week is scheduled on Sunday, June 12 from the First Launch Complex at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India. The four-launch window for the debut vehicle begins at 05:00 UTC. The rocket developed by Skyroot Aerospace will launch on a southeasterly trajectory with a 60-degree inclination to LEO with four payloads, including one of Skyroots own satellites.

Vikram-I is a four-stage small-lift expendable rocket, with its first stage Kalam 1,000 using solid propellants and generating 1,000 kN of thrust at liftoff. The vehicles second and third stages, Kalam 250, and Kalam 100, also use solid propellants; the fourth stage has four Raman-I engines fueled by dinitrogen tetroxide (N204) and monomethylhydrazine (MMH). The rocket can deliver 350 kg to LEO and 260 kg to sun-synchronous polar orbit (SSPO).

Lead Image: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch streak on the USSF-36 on Aug. 21, 2025. (Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



The post Launch Preview: Long March 10B and Vikram-I debut appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/07/launch-long-march-10b-vikram-i-debut/


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