Spaceflight Daily Report, Tuesday 20th October 2026

Bandwagon-5 prepares for launch. Image credit: SpaceX.

Launch of Bandwagon-5

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1104 UTC, or 0704 local time (EDT). This was carrying Bandwagon-5, the latest SpaceX rideshare mission carrying 32 payloads to a mid-inclination orbit for various customers, including the second flight of SpaceX's Starfall cargo re-entry system. The full launch manifest can be found beneath the "read more" break. This was the 698th flight of the Falcon 9, and the 19th flight of booster B1085, which successfully landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. [Source: SpaceX]

International Space Station Activities

Pyotr Dubrov (MS-29, Roscosmos) set up automatic cameras to photograph landmarks in Africa. Anna Kikina (MS-29, Roscosmos) unloaded water from the Progress MS-35 cargo spacecraft. Anil Menon (MS-29, NASA) configured tools and inspected tethers ahead of the two upcoming spacewalks. Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney (both Crew-13, NASA) continued their cellular bio-printing study, and Delaney also carried out cancer research. Joshua Kutryk (Crew-13, CSA) performed exercise research. Sergey Teteryatnikov (Crew-13, Roscosmos) trained to operate the European Robotic Arm. [Source: NASA]

Other notes

• Starlink Group 15-15, originally scheduled to launch at 2310 UTC, was scrubbed and has been rescheduled for tomorrow. [Source: SpaceX]
• The Long March 8A originally scheduled to launch on Thursday has been pushed back to Sunday. [Source: Next Spaceflight]
• The launch of NROL-195 aboard a Falcon 9 has been scheduled for no earlier than 5th November. [Source: Next Spaceflight]
• SpaceX confirmed during their Q3 earnings report that, during Starship Flight 15, they will attempt to catch both stages of the rocket for the first time, pending FAA approval. [Source: SpaceX]
• ESA lost a test model of their Space Rider cargo spaceplane in a failed drop test earlier this month. [Source: European Spaceflight]
• NASA published progress updates and some more details about the early rover missions of their Moon Base programme, including the VIPER rover and the crewed vehicles being developed by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost. [Source: NASA]
• UPDATE: NASA launched a sounding rocket from Poker Flat in Alaska on this day. See 25th October for details.

Spaceflight Daily Report, Thursday 1st October 2026

Crew-13 aboard Grace. Image credit: NASA

Launch of SpaceX Crew-13

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1510 UTC, or 1110 local time (EDT). This was carrying SpaceX Crew-13, a Crew Dragon spacecraft (Grace) carrying two Americans, one Canadian, and one Russian to the International Space Station. The spacecraft docked to the forward port of the Harmony module at 2305 UTC, just eight hours after launch, which is a new record for a US spacecraft. Hatch opening will occur after midnight UTC and will be covered in tomorrow's report. This was the 692nd flight of the Falcon 9, the 2nd flight of Crew Dragon Grace, and the 3rd flight of booster B1101, which performed a boostback burn and successfully landed at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 40. [Source: SpaceX]

The crew will join Expedition 75, and are expected to remain on the station for around five months. The mission commander is NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, a geologist who got her start at NASA working on various robotic Mars missions. This is her second spaceflight; she previously flew on SpaceX Crew-4 back in 2022, when she became the first Black woman to serve on a long-duration ISS mission, and as of today she is the first person to fly on two different Crew Dragon missions. The mission's pilot is NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, who became a test pilot for NASA after retiring from the Marine Corps. This is his first spaceflight. The first of the two mission specialists is Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk. He joined the CSA after a career as a test pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force. This is also his first spaceflight. And finally, the second mission specialist is Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Before being selected as a cosmonaut, he worked as a submarine engineer for the Russian Navy. This is his first spaceflight as well. The three first-timers are jointly the 649th people to achieve orbit, the 744th people to fly above 100km (the FAI definition of space), and the 785th people to fly above 50mi (the US definition of space). There are now 14 people in orbit: five Americans, four Russians, three Chinese, one Canadian, and one French. There are also currently five women in orbit, matching the record first set in 2022. [Source: NASA]

Launch of Transporter-18

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in California at 1832 UTC, or 1132 local time (PDT). This was Transporter-18, the latest SpaceX rideshare mission carrying a reported 130 payloads to Sun-synchronous orbit, including satellites for communication, Earth observation, medical manufacturing, technology demonstrations, orbital servicing, and orbital transfers. The full launch manifest can be found beneath the "read more" break. 71 objects were deployed during today's deployment sequence. This was the 693rd flight of the Falcon 9, and the 25th flight of booster B1082, which performed a boostback burn and successfully landed at Vandenberg's Landing Zone 4. [Source: SpaceX]

UPDATE: Today, in addition to the objects deployed directly from Transporter-18 (see full launch manifest below), OSSIE deployed NIS-PQ for the Greek company Libre Space Foundation, and ION SCV Alluring Alexander deployed SanoSat-3 for Nepali company Orion Space. The deployment of the rest of the tugs' payloads will follow in the coming days. [Source: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT]

Other notes

UPDATE: An RK-IM suborbital spaceflight took place on this day. See 6th October 2026 for details.