Spaceflight Daily Report, Thursday 9th July 2026

Image credit: Blue Origin

Launch of Starlink Group 10-42

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Floriday at 0925 UTC, or 0525 local time (EDT). This was carrying Starlink Group 10-42, a batch of 29 satellites for the constellation. It was the 663rd flight of the Falcon 9, and the 36th flight of booster B1067 (a new record), which successfully landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. [Source: SpaceX]

International Space Station Activities

The crew of the International Space Station carried out routine research and maintenance. [Source: NASA]

Death of Wally Funk

American aviator Wally Funk passed away yesterday (Wednesday 8th) at the age of 87. She was the last survivor of the "Mercury 13" women who underwent the same training as NASA's first batch of male astronauts but didn't get to participate in the early space program themselves. In 2021 she became the oldest person ever to visit space when she flew on a suborbital New Shepherd flight with Blue Origin at the age of 82. This made her the joint 571st person to fly above 100km (584th above 50mi), and she remains the oldest woman and the only member of the Mercury 13 to have been to space. [Source: Blue Origin]