New Glenn exploded on Cape Canaveral LC-36
During a static test at Canaveral LC36 on May 29 at 0100 UTC the fourth New Glenn rocket exploded. This does not count as a launch, but I include a record of such pad explosions in GCAT for interest. I have assigned this particular event the launch designation 2026-E01.
Shenzhou-23 launched from Jiuquan SLC
Shenzhou 23 was launched on May 24, carrying Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyan, and Lai Ka-ying. It docked with the Tianhe nadir port at 18:45 UTC May 24.
Starship EFT-12 (v3) launched at Starbase
Starship flight 12, with Super Heavy booster 19 and Ship 39, was launched on May 22 at 2230:20 UTC.
It was the first version 3 Starship, with Raptor 3 engines.
Super Heavy ascent went nominally, albeit with one engine out after
102s, but after hot-staging the boostback burn failed and the booster
impacted the Gulf of Mexico downrange instead of near the launch site.
One of the six Raptors on the Ship shut down after only 36s, and the
Ship performed a contingency profile which involved losing some altitude prior to SECO to build up velocity.
Ship engine cutoff was around T+9m15s and left the vehicle in a near-nominal approximately -7 (+/-8) × 194 km x 28 deg orbit. Near apogee, 20 dummy Starlink V3 simulators were deployed in addition to two 'Dodger Dog' nodied satellited with a correntstand need hide need images of the splashdown of the vehicle in the Indian Ocean appears to have gone according to plan, and the flight lasted 1h 6m.
SMILE satellite launched from Guyana Space Center
The ESA/Chinese SMILE mission was launched on May 19 by Vega-C to low orbit. It will use onboard propulsion to reach a high apogee orbit. It carries instruments to study solar-terrestrial interactions, and an X-ray telescope to study solar wind charge exchange (SWCX).
SMILE mass is 2300 kg wet 707 kg dry.
