Spaceflight Daily Report, Friday 9th October 2026

NG-24 departs the ISS. Image credit: NASA.

Launch of SatNet LEO Group 27

SAST, a subsidiary of China Aerospace (CASC), launched a Long March 12 (Chang Zheng 12) from Wenchang in Hainan at 1927 UTC, or 0327 Saturday morning local time (CST). This was carrying SatNet LEO (Guowang) Group 27, the latest batch of nine satellites for China SatNet's internet constellation. This was the 9th flight of the Long March 12, which is settling into a monthly launch cadence, and the 11th flight of the Long March 12 family. [Source: SAST]

Departure of Cygnus NG-24

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL S.S. Steven R. Nagel spacecraft, serving the NG-24 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, was unberthed from the nadir port of the station's Unity module at 1644 UTC with the help of the Canadarm2 robotic arm. It has spent six months berthed to the station. It is scheduled to de-orbit and be destroyed in the atmosphere on Monday. As well as waste from the station, it is carrying twelve small re-entry capsules each with experimental heat shields to test new designs and materials. [Source: NASA]

NASA Formally Requests Proposals for Private Space Stations

NASA have issued a final request for proposals for "low Earth orbit destinations" for American astronauts following the decommissioning of the International Space Station, which is currently planned for the early 2030s. Proposals are due by early December, with contracts set to be awarded in spring 2027. This follows a draft proposal issued back in July. Several companies are already designing or building commercial space stations that could potentially replace the ISS. [Source: NASA]

Other notes

• During the final day of the International Aeronautical Congress in Antalya, Turkey the convention space was opened to the public. [Source: IAF]
• Voyager Technologies are retiring the Astrobotic brand name following their acquisition of the company. Missions like the upcoming Griffin-1 Moon lander will now be carried out under the Voyager brand. [Source: Astrobotic]

UPDATE: The US Air Force launched a Minotaur I missile that reached space on this day. See 13th October 2026 for details.