Lukas C. H.
@gewoonlukas.bsky.social
Spaceflight Enthusiast 🚀
Mission Patches 🎨 → https://www.flickr.com/photos/194604992@N07/
May the force be with you my friend, Ad Astra Per Aspera ✨️🕊
Other socials → https://linktr.ee/gewoonlukas
Mission Patches 🎨 → https://www.flickr.com/photos/194604992@N07/
May the force be with you my friend, Ad Astra Per Aspera ✨️🕊
Other socials → https://linktr.ee/gewoonlukas
Eutelsat has canceled its order for the "Flexsat Americas" satellite, which they ordered from Thales Alenia Space in 2022. The satellite was originally to launch this year, but had already been delayed to 2028. This means Eutelsat currently has no GEO satellites on order.
February 13, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Eutelsat has canceled its order for the "Flexsat Americas" satellite, which they ordered from Thales Alenia Space in 2022. The satellite was originally to launch this year, but had already been delayed to 2028. This means Eutelsat currently has no GEO satellites on order.
It also looks like Canopée, Arianespace's transport vessel, also arrived with the stages for VA268 in French Guyana 2 days ago! This means all the hardware for the LE-02 mission should already be at the launchsite, and that we could see launch as early as late next month.
February 13, 2026 at 10:42 AM
It also looks like Canopée, Arianespace's transport vessel, also arrived with the stages for VA268 in French Guyana 2 days ago! This means all the hardware for the LE-02 mission should already be at the launchsite, and that we could see launch as early as late next month.
Rocket Lab has announced their next mission! This will be a suborbital HASTE launch named "That's Not A Knife". Inside the comically long fairing will be Hypersonix' DART-AE, a hydrogen-fueled scramjet technology demonstrator. Hazard area's indicate launch is NET February 23rd at 20:00 UTC.
February 12, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Rocket Lab has announced their next mission! This will be a suborbital HASTE launch named "That's Not A Knife". Inside the comically long fairing will be Hypersonix' DART-AE, a hydrogen-fueled scramjet technology demonstrator. Hazard area's indicate launch is NET February 23rd at 20:00 UTC.
Mission success for Amazon Leo LE-01 and the 1st Ariane 64! This was the 1st of 18 Amazon Leo launches on Ariane 6, and Arianespace has confirmed that the next will be another for Amazon! It looks like Amazon has already shipped the satellites to French Guyana on January 23rd.
February 12, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Mission success for Amazon Leo LE-01 and the 1st Ariane 64! This was the 1st of 18 Amazon Leo launches on Ariane 6, and Arianespace has confirmed that the next will be another for Amazon! It looks like Amazon has already shipped the satellites to French Guyana on January 23rd.
Reposted by Lukas C. H.
Payloads delivered! 📦
The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit has worked non-stop during the separation of all 32 satellites.
The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit has worked non-stop during the separation of all 32 satellites.
February 12, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Payloads delivered! 📦
The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit has worked non-stop during the separation of all 32 satellites.
The Auxiliary Propulsion Unit has worked non-stop during the separation of all 32 satellites.
Despite the anomaly, Vulcan successfully delivered USSF-87 to GSO. ULA's next launch was supposed to be GPS III SV10 aboard Vulcan, but ULA confirmed they'll perform an investigation before the next Vulcan launch. My guess would be that ULA's next launch now likely is another Leo Atlas for Amazon.
February 12, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Despite the anomaly, Vulcan successfully delivered USSF-87 to GSO. ULA's next launch was supposed to be GPS III SV10 aboard Vulcan, but ULA confirmed they'll perform an investigation before the next Vulcan launch. My guess would be that ULA's next launch now likely is another Leo Atlas for Amazon.
Reposted by Lukas C. H.
Liftoff of Ariane 6 #VA267 on 12 February 2026 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana! @cnes.fr @transport.esa.int
February 12, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Liftoff of Ariane 6 #VA267 on 12 February 2026 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana! @cnes.fr @transport.esa.int
That's a surprisingly detailed render of the Amazon Leo payload stack for LE-01. Like Atlas V, there are 3 dispenser rings with 9 satellites each. But there then is a smaller dispenser ring on top capable of carrying 6 satellites, which in this case carries 5 satellites.
February 12, 2026 at 4:20 PM
That's a surprisingly detailed render of the Amazon Leo payload stack for LE-01. Like Atlas V, there are 3 dispenser rings with 9 satellites each. But there then is a smaller dispenser ring on top capable of carrying 6 satellites, which in this case carries 5 satellites.
Reposted by Lukas C. H.
For those of you following we have a weather update: all looks good ☺️
Now we are filling up the tanks, as planned.
Now we are filling up the tanks, as planned.
February 12, 2026 at 12:59 PM
For those of you following we have a weather update: all looks good ☺️
Now we are filling up the tanks, as planned.
Now we are filling up the tanks, as planned.
Vulcan uses the same SRB's as Atlas V, they're just a bit longer, but only Vulcan is having problems. I suspect this is because Vulcan's GEM63XL's have 25% more thrust then Atlas V's GEM63's, but I think the nozzle is identical. Maybe the nozzle is not able to handle the higher thrust?
February 12, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Vulcan uses the same SRB's as Atlas V, they're just a bit longer, but only Vulcan is having problems. I suspect this is because Vulcan's GEM63XL's have 25% more thrust then Atlas V's GEM63's, but I think the nozzle is identical. Maybe the nozzle is not able to handle the higher thrust?
Reposted by Lukas C. H.
The first Ariane 6 with four boosters stands tall on the launch pad 👑
With the 20-metre version of the fairing, the height of the rocket is 62 metres!
Teams at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana are doing the final checks before liftoff, set for today at 17:45–18:13 CET (13:45–14:13 local time).
With the 20-metre version of the fairing, the height of the rocket is 62 metres!
Teams at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana are doing the final checks before liftoff, set for today at 17:45–18:13 CET (13:45–14:13 local time).
February 12, 2026 at 10:29 AM
The first Ariane 6 with four boosters stands tall on the launch pad 👑
With the 20-metre version of the fairing, the height of the rocket is 62 metres!
Teams at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana are doing the final checks before liftoff, set for today at 17:45–18:13 CET (13:45–14:13 local time).
With the 20-metre version of the fairing, the height of the rocket is 62 metres!
Teams at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana are doing the final checks before liftoff, set for today at 17:45–18:13 CET (13:45–14:13 local time).
Uhhh....that's not great. Looks like Vulcan may have lost one of its SRB nozzles again... A burnthrough happens at T+0:29, and then looks like the full nozzle falls off at T+1:06. Vulcan also had this issue on the Certification-2 mission.
📸 www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_uw... & ULA
📸 www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_uw... & ULA
February 12, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Uhhh....that's not great. Looks like Vulcan may have lost one of its SRB nozzles again... A burnthrough happens at T+0:29, and then looks like the full nozzle falls off at T+1:06. Vulcan also had this issue on the Certification-2 mission.
📸 www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_uw... & ULA
📸 www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_uw... & ULA
Down she comes! After supporting 18 Crew missions, SpaceX is removing the Crew Access Arm from LC-39A for maintenance.
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
Demo-2
Crew-1
Crew-2
Inspiration4
Crew-3
AX-1
Crew-4
Crew-5
Crew-6
AX-2
Crew-7
AX-3
Crew-8
Polaris Dawn
Crew-10
Fram2
AX-4
Crew-11
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
Demo-2
Crew-1
Crew-2
Inspiration4
Crew-3
AX-1
Crew-4
Crew-5
Crew-6
AX-2
Crew-7
AX-3
Crew-8
Polaris Dawn
Crew-10
Fram2
AX-4
Crew-11
February 11, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Down she comes! After supporting 18 Crew missions, SpaceX is removing the Crew Access Arm from LC-39A for maintenance.
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
Demo-2
Crew-1
Crew-2
Inspiration4
Crew-3
AX-1
Crew-4
Crew-5
Crew-6
AX-2
Crew-7
AX-3
Crew-8
Polaris Dawn
Crew-10
Fram2
AX-4
Crew-11
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
Demo-2
Crew-1
Crew-2
Inspiration4
Crew-3
AX-1
Crew-4
Crew-5
Crew-6
AX-2
Crew-7
AX-3
Crew-8
Polaris Dawn
Crew-10
Fram2
AX-4
Crew-11
Following USSF-87, ULA is planning a rapid cadence of Vulcan launches. Next after USSF-87 are GPS III SV10, USSF-57, T1TR-B and NROL-64 all in the first half of the year. Multiple Amazon Leo launches are also planned, but those depend on when VIF-A is ready.
February 11, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Following USSF-87, ULA is planning a rapid cadence of Vulcan launches. Next after USSF-87 are GPS III SV10, USSF-57, T1TR-B and NROL-64 all in the first half of the year. Multiple Amazon Leo launches are also planned, but those depend on when VIF-A is ready.
Reposted by Lukas C. H.
AST SpaceMobile Successfully Completes Unfolding of BlueBird 6, the Largest Commercial Communications Array Antenna Ever Deployed in Low Earth Orbit
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...
February 11, 2026 at 1:23 AM
AST SpaceMobile Successfully Completes Unfolding of BlueBird 6, the Largest Commercial Communications Array Antenna Ever Deployed in Low Earth Orbit
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...
Unfortunately the Crew-12 mission has been delayed by an additional 24 hours, as weather in the ascent corridor continues to be unfavorable. However this does mean that ULA's USSF-87 Vulcan launch can proceed as planned on Feb. 12th, with the 2-hour window opening at 08:30 UTC.
Due to Crew-12 delaying by 24 hours, ULA's Vulcan (USSF-87) and SpaceX' Falcon 9 (Crew-12) are now set to launch within 2 hours of each other from neighboring pads 2.5km apart. If Crew-12 proceeds, I doubt USSF-87 can launch due to Dragon closeouts right around Vulcan's T-0.
February 10, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Unfortunately the Crew-12 mission has been delayed by an additional 24 hours, as weather in the ascent corridor continues to be unfavorable. However this does mean that ULA's USSF-87 Vulcan launch can proceed as planned on Feb. 12th, with the 2-hour window opening at 08:30 UTC.
During today's Crew-12 briefing, SpaceX' William Gerstenmaier said that they are taking the Crew Access Arm down to perform some maintenance. SpaceX is planning to keep it on the ground after this work, but he said they can reinstall it quickly enough if needed.
Starting with Crew-12, all future Dragon missions will launch from SLC-40. SpaceX is currently removing the Crew Access Arm from LC-39A, as they transition the pad to Starship (although it will stay active for Falcon Heavy and a few Falcon 9's).
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
February 9, 2026 at 4:47 PM
During today's Crew-12 briefing, SpaceX' William Gerstenmaier said that they are taking the Crew Access Arm down to perform some maintenance. SpaceX is planning to keep it on the ground after this work, but he said they can reinstall it quickly enough if needed.
In a Crew-12 briefing today, SpaceX' William Gerstenmaier (VP Build & Flight Reliability) said they were using a new chilldown profile for the deorbit burn on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission. This new profile created a condition that allowed the failure to happen.
In an update on their website, SpaceX says the deorbit burn failure earlier this week on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission was caused by a gas bubble in the transfer tube. www.spacex.com/launches/sl-...
Yesterday, on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission, SpaceX had another failed deorbit burn. While the stage was unable to deorbit itself, the propellant was vented which did lower the perigee to 110km. SpaceX has already delayed several Starlink mission as they investigate the issue.
February 9, 2026 at 4:45 PM
In a Crew-12 briefing today, SpaceX' William Gerstenmaier (VP Build & Flight Reliability) said they were using a new chilldown profile for the deorbit burn on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission. This new profile created a condition that allowed the failure to happen.
Due to Crew-12 delaying by 24 hours, ULA's Vulcan (USSF-87) and SpaceX' Falcon 9 (Crew-12) are now set to launch within 2 hours of each other from neighboring pads 2.5km apart. If Crew-12 proceeds, I doubt USSF-87 can launch due to Dragon closeouts right around Vulcan's T-0.
February 9, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Due to Crew-12 delaying by 24 hours, ULA's Vulcan (USSF-87) and SpaceX' Falcon 9 (Crew-12) are now set to launch within 2 hours of each other from neighboring pads 2.5km apart. If Crew-12 proceeds, I doubt USSF-87 can launch due to Dragon closeouts right around Vulcan's T-0.
Firefly successfully static fired their Alpha FLTA007 rocket on the launchpad, and are targeting NET Feb. 18 (NET Feb. 19 at 00:50 UTC) for launch of the "Stairway To Seven" mission. This will be the return to flight (without a payload). Instead they're testing Block 2 upgrades.
February 9, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Firefly successfully static fired their Alpha FLTA007 rocket on the launchpad, and are targeting NET Feb. 18 (NET Feb. 19 at 00:50 UTC) for launch of the "Stairway To Seven" mission. This will be the return to flight (without a payload). Instead they're testing Block 2 upgrades.
Starting with Crew-12, all future Dragon missions will launch from SLC-40. SpaceX is currently removing the Crew Access Arm from LC-39A, as they transition the pad to Starship (although it will stay active for Falcon Heavy and a few Falcon 9's).
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
February 7, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Starting with Crew-12, all future Dragon missions will launch from SLC-40. SpaceX is currently removing the Crew Access Arm from LC-39A, as they transition the pad to Starship (although it will stay active for Falcon Heavy and a few Falcon 9's).
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
In an update on their website, SpaceX says the deorbit burn failure earlier this week on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission was caused by a gas bubble in the transfer tube. www.spacex.com/launches/sl-...
Yesterday, on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission, SpaceX had another failed deorbit burn. While the stage was unable to deorbit itself, the propellant was vented which did lower the perigee to 110km. SpaceX has already delayed several Starlink mission as they investigate the issue.
February 7, 2026 at 4:16 PM
In an update on their website, SpaceX says the deorbit burn failure earlier this week on the Starlink Group 17-32 mission was caused by a gas bubble in the transfer tube. www.spacex.com/launches/sl-...
In their shareholder letter, Viasat finally confirmed ViaSat-3 F3 is launching on Falcon Heavy, and is undergoing final integrations ahead of launch in a couple of months. However it appears that they'll wait on deployment of ViaSat-3 F2's antenna before they'll launch F3.
February 5, 2026 at 9:33 PM
In their shareholder letter, Viasat finally confirmed ViaSat-3 F3 is launching on Falcon Heavy, and is undergoing final integrations ahead of launch in a couple of months. However it appears that they'll wait on deployment of ViaSat-3 F2's antenna before they'll launch F3.
The rocket for the first Vulcan launch from the West Coast has arrived at Vandenberg! This should be for the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer-B or D mission, which could be scheduled for as early as May. The rocket is configured as a VC2, so should be a VC2S configuration.
February 3, 2026 at 10:25 PM
The rocket for the first Vulcan launch from the West Coast has arrived at Vandenberg! This should be for the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking Layer-B or D mission, which could be scheduled for as early as May. The rocket is configured as a VC2, so should be a VC2S configuration.
ULA is currently rolling out the fairing for USSF-87 to SLC-41 for stacking atop Vulcan! Inside should be 2 GSSAP satellites, as well as an ESPA-ring with smaller payloads. Launch is scheduled for NET Feb. 12, with lift-off reportedly around 08:00 UTC.
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
February 3, 2026 at 8:05 PM
ULA is currently rolling out the fairing for USSF-87 to SLC-41 for stacking atop Vulcan! Inside should be 2 GSSAP satellites, as well as an ESPA-ring with smaller payloads. Launch is scheduled for NET Feb. 12, with lift-off reportedly around 08:00 UTC.
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast
📸 nsf.live/spacecoast