Explore every episode of the podcast Orbital News
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crew-13 Sets a Docking Record as SpaceX Closes Its Tripleheader | 02 Oct 2026 | 00:09:26 | |
Crew-13 docks after a record 7h55m sprint to Harmony as SpaceX closes a tripleheader Thursday — Transporter-18 lofted Google’s Suncatcher pathfinder, Falcon Heavy flew NROL-97 overnight, and Italy’s IRIDE finished its Eaglet II constellation. Orbital News — daily spaceflight bulletin. | |||
| Crew-13 Is Go on a SpaceX Tripleheader Thursday | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:10:26 | |
Crew-13 is go for a Cape window on a SpaceX tripleheader Thursday — Transporter-18 carries Google’s first Suncatcher test from Vandenberg, Falcon Heavy closes with NROL-97, and ESA’s Smile mission begins science ops.Orbital News — daily spaceflight bulletin. | |||
| Crew-13 Counts Down as ESA Studies a European Outpost | 30 Sep 2026 | 00:08:40 | |
Crew-13 finishes its dry dress rehearsal and counts down for Thursday from Cape Canaveral, while Transporter-18 shares the calendar from Vandenberg. Plus ESA opens studies for a European-led orbital outpost after the Station era.Orbital News — daily spaceflight bulletin. | |||
| Starship Closes Flight 14 as Juice Confirms Earth Flyby | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:08:54 | |
Starship Flight 14 closes after deploying all 26 Starlink V3 satellites and an early Pacific splashdown north of Hawaii. Plus ESA confirms Juice’s Earth flyby, and Crew-13’s Falcon 9 stands vertical at the Cape for Thursday. Orbital News — daily spaceflight bulletin. | |||
| Starship Reaches Orbit as First Starlink V3 Deploys | 28 Sep 2026 | 00:08:11 | |
Starship Flight 14 reaches orbit after a single vacuum-Raptor failure on ascent and a long health check, then begins deploying the first operational Starlink V3 satellite. Plus Juice’s Earth closest-approach window, weekend resolves for Electron Owlright and Falcon 9 USSF-385, and Crew-13 still NET 1 October.Correction: Starlink Group 15-27 lifted Saturday 19 September 6:47 p.m. Pacific (Sunday 20 September 01:47 UTC), not Friday.Orbital News — daily spaceflight bulletin. | |||
| Starship Clears Wet Dress as Yaogan-40 Orbits | 25 Sep 2026 | 00:08:59 | |
SpaceX completes the Starship Flight 14 wet dress at Starbase as Monday’s first orbital attempt stays on the board. China puts Yaogan-40 04 into orbit from Taiyuan. Plus Owlright, USSF-385, Juice, and Crew-13 on the watchlist.Orbital News — daily space bulletin. Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | |||
| SatNet Group 26 Orbits as Starship Stacks for Flight 14 | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:08:42 | |
Long March 8A puts SatNet LEO Group 26 in orbit from Wenchang. Starship Flight 14 is stacked at Starbase with a wet dress expected today. Weekend board: Electron Owlright and USSF-385. Juice still on for Monday’s Earth flyby.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. Also on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Juice Opens Its Earth Window as Wenchang Counts Down | 23 Sep 2026 | 00:08:53 | |
ESA’s Juice turns on its Earth–Moon science window today ahead of Monday’s third gravity-assist flyby. A Long March 8A counts down from Wenchang this afternoon. Weekend board: another Synspective Electron and USSF-385; Starship Flight 14 and Crew-13 stay on the calendar. Orbital News — weekday space ops bulletin. Also on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Super Heavy Hits the Pad as Crew-13 Locks October First | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:09:10 | |
Super Heavy Booster 21 rolls to Starbase Pad 2 ahead of Starship Flight 14’s first orbital try, no earlier than 28 September pending FAA approval. Crew-13 locks a 1 October window, and NASA adds Crew-15 through 17 under a $946 million contract mod. Plus Starlink 15-27 from Vandenberg, CAS Space’s Kinetica-1 from Jiuquan, and the week’s watchlist.Orbital News — daily weekday space bulletin. Also on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Progress 96 Docks as Owl Clears Māhia | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:08:59 | |
Progress 96 docks at Poisk with about three tons of cargo. Rocket Lab’s Owl By The Dozen puts Synspective’s StriX-10 in a 572 km orbit from Māhia. Falcon 9 flies Starlink 15-27 from Vandenberg. China adds a Long March 2D PIESAT stack and a Kinetica-1 nine-pack. Watchlist: USSF-385, Starship NET 28 Sep, Crew-13 early October.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Crew-13 Quarantines as Starship Slips to the Twenty-Eighth | 18 Sep 2026 | 00:08:55 | |
Crew-13 enters quarantine for an early October ISS launch. Starship Flight 14 slips to no earlier than 28 September pending regulatory approval. Progress 96 lines up Saturday’s Poisk docking. Plus CRS-35’s final IROSA sets and the week’s watchlist.Orbital News — daily weekday space bulletin. Also on Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Progress 96 Orbits as USSF-259 Clears Vandenberg | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:08:40 | |
Progress 96 is in orbit toward the ISS after Baikonur’s second try. Falcon 9 flies USSF-259 from Vandenberg with an Of Course I Still Love You landing. China adds a Long March-12 internet group and a Kuaizhou-11 dual sat. Watchlist: Poisk docking, Owl By The Dozen, Starlink 15-27, Starship Flight 14.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. Spotify + Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Progress 96 Counts Down as USSF-259 Retries | 16 Sep 2026 | 00:08:48 | |
This afternoon Progress 96 aims for the ISS from Baikonur after last week’s third-stage scrub. Falcon 9 resets USSF-259 at Vandenberg tonight after a pre-fuel scrub. China flies Zhuque-2E and Gravity-1 constellation rides in a day, and SpaceX puts Starship Flight 14 on a 22 September orbital window.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | |||
| FLEX and Sentinel-3C Orbit as USSF-259 Counts Down | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:09:08 | |
Overnight from Kourou, Vega-C flew ESA’s FLEX Earth Explorer and Copernicus Sentinel-3C — both in contact. Tonight Falcon 9 opens a Vandenberg window for USSF-259. Progress is back on the Baikonur pad for Wednesday, and the FAA Starship Flight 14 airspace window slips to 22 September.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Falcon's 700th Closes Out O3b as FLEX Counts Down | 14 Sep 2026 | 00:08:37 | |
Falcon's 700th flight closes out SES O3b mPOWER from Cape Canaveral. Europe's Vega-C stacks FLEX and Sentinel-3C for tonight from Kourou. The FAA puts Starship Flight 14 on an 18 September airspace window. Watchlist: USSF-259, Progress, and more. Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. | |||
| USSF-153 Orbits as China Flies Yaogan Groups | 11 Sep 2026 | 00:09:12 | |
Falcon 9 lofted classified USSF-153 from Vandenberg Thursday and stuck the droneship landing. China orbited Yaogan-53 and Yaogan-56 on a Long March-4B — the 666th Long March flight. SpaceX targets Sunday for SES’s final three O3b mPOWER satellites. Progress 96 and Crew-13 stay on hold. Watchlist: Long March 8A today, Vega-C VV30, USSF-259, and a bright ISS pass for the UK tonight.Orbital News — daily space bulletin. Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | |||
| USSF-153 Counts Down as Ariane Books Ten More | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:09:22 | |
Falcon 9 counts down today for classified USSF-153 from Vandenberg. Arianespace books ten more Ariane 64 flights, six for Amazon Leo. ESA posts the watch window for FLEX and Sentinel-3C on Vega-C VV30. Progress 96 and Crew-13 stay on hold. Watchlist: Long March windows, SES O3b mPOWER on Sunday, and a bright ISS pass for the UK tonight.Orbital News — daily space bulletin. Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. | |||
| Progress 96 Scrubs as FLEX Rolls to the Tower | 09 Sep 2026 | 00:08:57 | |
Progress 96 is scrubbed at Baikonur for technical problems — rocket off the pad, NET mid-September. Plus FLEX and Sentinel-3C into the Kourou tower for Vega-C, USSF-153 on the Thursday board, Crew-13 still on hold, the week’s launch watchlist, and a solid ISS pass over the UK tonight.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin.Progress 96 Scrubs as FLEX Rolls to the Tower | |||
| Progress Clears Poisk as Asteroid 2026 RW1 Hits | 08 Sep 2026 | 00:10:16 | |
Progress MS-33 leaves Poisk and burns up over the Pacific as Progress 96 counts down for Wednesday. Plus asteroid 2026 RW1 — the 13th predicted Earth impactor — a brief Isar commercial follow-up, Crew-13 still on hold, the week’s launch board, and a G1 aurora watch for northern Europe.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin. | |||
| Spectrum Orbits from Andøya as Falcon 9 Hits 103 | 07 Sep 2026 | 00:09:42 | |
Spectrum reaches orbit from Andøya. Falcon 9 logs its 103rd flight of 2026 with Starlink. Crew-13 still waits on a Dragon fix.On this episode of Orbital News:• Isar Aerospace Spectrum mission Onward and Upward — first commercial European orbital delivery from Andøya (10:12 p.m. CEST / 20:12 UTC, 5 Sep)• Falcon 9 Starlink Group 15-24 from Vandenberg (7:26 a.m. Pacific / 14:26 UTC, 6 Sep) — B1088 flight 19• Crew-13 still TBD after Dragon Grace oxidizer leak• Watchlist: G1 space weather 8 Sep; Progress MS-35; USSF-153; O3b mPOWER F; Vega-C VV30; Starship Flight 14 planningSources include Isar Aerospace, ESA, DLR, Ars Technica, Space.com, Spaceflight Now, and NOAA SWPC. Times: local first, then UTC.Orbital News is a weekday space-news audio bulletin. Listen on Spotify. X: @orbitalnewsuk | |||
| EOS-05 Orbits as BepiColombo Starts Mercury Arrival | 04 Sep 2026 | 00:09:50 | |
ISRO's GSLV-F17 lofted EOS-05 (GISAT-1A) overnight — India's first imaging satellite aimed at geosynchronous orbit. ESA/JAXA BepiColombo confirmed Mercury Transfer Module separation and opened its arrival phase. Isar Aerospace's Spectrum may attempt Onward and Upward from Andøya tonight. Plus Starship Flight 14 planning, Crew-13 still TBD, and the next seven days.Orbital News — weekday space bulletin.Show: https://open.spotify.com/show/7BwSC5CeNar8DxNaJhl3hJSources: ISRO / Indian press; ESA BepiColombo ops; Space.com; Spaceflight Now; Next Spaceflight; NOAA SWPC.Corrections: use the correction line in a later episode if we miss a name, time, or fact. | |||
| EOS-05 Countdown as Falcon 9 Logs Flight 35 | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:10:41 | |
India's GSLV-F17 lines up overnight with Earth observation satellite EOS-05, framed as the country's first geosynchronous imaging craft. Also: SpaceX Starlink 15-23 and booster B1063's 35th flight, Rocket Lab's Owl Around the World StriX launch, NASA's Blue Origin Mars telecommunications award, and Starship Flight 14 orbital paperwork. Watchlist through Vega-C mid-month. Corrections welcome via these notes. | |||
| EVA-99 Complete as Roman Powers Its Planet Imager | 02 Sep 2026 | 00:10:44 | |
NASA's Jessica Meir and ESA's Sophie Adenot completed U.S. spacewalk 99 on Tuesday - six hours forty-nine minutes, the sixth all-female station walk - installing a Harmony retroreflector and swapping a truss camera before a suit harness snag was cleared. Also: Roman powered on its Coronagraph Instrument and finished antenna and sunshade deployments; Crew-13 still has no new date; Starlink 15-23 and Rocket Lab's Owl Around the World are on today's pad calendar; and ISRO sets GSLV-F17/EOS-05 for early Friday. Recorded Wednesday 2 September 2026. | |||
| Pallas-1 Debuts as Meir and Adenot Head Outside | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:10:16 | |
Chinese commercial launcher Galactic Energy flew its Pallas-1 liquid rocket to orbit on a successful maiden flight Tuesday from Dongfeng near Jiuquan. Also: NASA's Jessica Meir and ESA's Sophie Adenot are go for U.S. spacewalk 99; Roman completed its first mid-course correction toward L2; Crew-13 remains delayed with no new date; and Rocket Lab slips Owl Around the World to 2 September. Recorded Tuesday 1 September 2026. | |||
| Roman Telescope Flies as Crew-13 Slips on a Dragon Leak | 31 Aug 2026 | 00:12:56 | |
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday 30 August on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center and is on a three-month cruise to Sun-Earth L2. Also: NASA and SpaceX delay Crew-13 after an oxidizer leak on Dragon; station commander Jessica Meir and ESA's Sophie Adenot prepare for Tuesday's spacewalk; LeoLabs reports a Long March 6C upper-stage breakup; and Rocket Lab slips Electron's Owl Around the World mission to 1 September. Recorded Monday 31 August 2026. | |||
| Ariane 6's First GEO Flight as Roman Telescope Counts Down | 28 Aug 2026 | 00:12:19 | |
'Eriane 6rocket flies its first geostationary mission,delivering the MTG-2weather satellite from French Guiana on 72August.NASA and SpaceX hold a Launch Readiness Review for Sunday' Falcon Heavy launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.Also: NASA confirms the Swift observatory will make an uncontrolled reentry after a failed robotic rescue; the ISS restores a backup antenna and preps a 1 September spacewalk;and NOAA watches a G2geomagnetic storm into Saturday.Recorded Friday 82August 2.620 | |||