The last full week of 2025 will be a busy one, with nine launches scheduled on the launch manifest. Of these, only one will launch from the United States — a single Falcon 9 mission from California. Innospace looks to finally debut their Hanbit-Nano rocket after several delays at the beginning of the week, with Russia planning to launch two Soyuz missions from Plesetsk and Vostochny.
Chinese missions comprise a majority of the launch manifest for the week, with four missions launching from four different launch facilities throughout China. India also looks to join the launch manifest with the launch of a BlueBird Block 2 satellite on its LVM-3 rocket.
South Korean space company Innospace looks to finally launch its Hanbit-Nano rocket on its first orbital mission at 01:00 UTC on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Named “Spaceward,” the mission will see the launch of eight payloads: five small satellites that will collect climatological and environmental data about Earth from orbit, and three experimental payloads that will verify new technologies.
Hanbit-Nano is a 21.7 m-tall, 1.4 m-diameter rocket that produces 245 kN of thrust at liftoff from a single hybrid-propellant engine. The upper stage is also powered by a single hybrid-propellant “Hyper” engine that produces 34 kN of thrust. Paraffin and liquid oxygen (LOX) are the hybrid propellants used. The upper stage also has the option of flying with a methane and LOX “LiMER” engine, which produces 29 kN of thrust.
Hanbit-Nano will liftoff from Innospace’s launch site at the Alcantara Launch Center in Maranhao, Brazil. This mission marks the first flight of Hanbit-Nano and Innospace’s second mission of 2025.
The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is expected to debut its Chang Zheng 12A (CZ-12A) rocket on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 02:00 UTC from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. The vehicle will fly on a southeast trajectory out of Jiuquan.
The CZ-12A will be the first reusable launch vehicle developed by CASC, with its first stage expected to attempt a landing on a concrete pad approximately 300 km downrange from the launch site. CZ-12A is a two-stage launch vehicle, standing 69 m-tall and 3.8 m in diameter, and is capable of launching 12,000 kg to low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Both the first and second stages use methane and LOX propellants. The first stage features seven Longyun-70 engines, while the second stage utilizes a single YF-209V engine.
Details on payloads being flown (if any) are currently not available, though may be made available following launch.
AST SpaceMobile is set to launch one of its BlueBird Block 2 satellites atop an Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM-3) rocket on Wednesday, Dec. 24, at 03:24 UTC. LVM-3 will liftoff from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India, flying on a southeasterly trajectory into LEO.
LVM-3 launches the Chandrayaan-3 mission in July 2023. (Credit: ISRO)
The BlueBird Block 2 satellites are the second generation BlueBird satellites, designed to provide over 10 times the bandwidth of the original BlueBird satellites currently in LEO today. AST SpaceMobile is targeting around 100% nationwide coverage in the U.S. with the Block 2 satellites, as well as 24/7 continuous cellular broadband service. Each Block 2 satellite features a 2,400-square-foot communications array — the largest ever deployed in LEO.
LVM-3 has been in service since 2014 and was previously referred to as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III. A three-stage medium-lift rocket, it is capable of launching 10,000 kg to LEO and 4,200 kg to geostationary transfer orbit. The first stage comprises two Solid S200 solid rocket boosters, each producing 5,150 kN of thrust. The second (core) stage uses two Vikas engines burning hypergolic propellants, while the third stage features one CE-20 engine burning LOX and liquid hydrogen (LH2).
This mission will mark the ninth LVM-3 mission and second of 2025, as well as ISRO’s fifth mission of 2025 and 101st overall.
Soyuz 2.1a | Obzor-R n°1 & Others
A Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket will launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on Wednesday, Dec. 24, at 14:00 UTC. Soyuz will launch the Obzor-R n°1 Earth observation satellite to Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), as well as other small satellites, including an Iranian observation satellite.
A Soyuz 2.1a rocket launches from Baikonur. (Credit: Roscosmos)
Obzor-R n°1 is a replacement for the Arkon-2M satellite, which was halted in 2012 in favor of Obzor-R n°1. The satellite features the BRLK X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrument, which has a ground resolution of 500 m. TsSKB-Progress designed the satellite.
Soyuz 2.1a has been flying since 2004, and is a member of the long-flying R7 rocket family that originated in the Soviet Union during the 1960s. A three-stage, 46.3 m tall, 10.3 m diameter rocket, Soyuz 2.1a can deliver 6,800 kg to LEO from Plesetsk. Four liquid-fuelled boosters are strapped around the core “second” stage, with each booster featuring a single RD-107A engine and the core using a single RD-108A engine. The upper, third stage uses an RD-0110 engine. All three stages utilize LOX and RP-1 (kerosene) propellants.
This launch marks the sixth Soyuz 2.1a mission of 2025 and the 87th overall.
Chang Zheng 8A | Unknown Payload
CASC will launch a Chang Zhang 8A (CZ-8A) rocket from Commercial Launch Complex 1 (LC-1) at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China on Thursday, Dec. 25, at 23:25 UTC. The payload flying on this mission is unknown. CZ-8A will fly to the southeast after lifting off from Wenchang.
Chang Zheng 8A lifts off on its maiden launch from Wenchang. (Credit: SpaceLens)
The CZ-8A is a 3.35 m-diameter, 50.54 m-tall rocket that was first launched in February. The rocket can deliver 9,800 kg to LEO using two stages, with the option to add liquid-fuelled boosters to the first stage. Each booster uses one YF-100 engine, while the first stage uses two. The second stage utilizes two YF-75 engines, burning LH2 and LOX. The boosters and first stage burn RP-1 and LOX.
This mission will be the sixth overall mission for the CZ-8A.
Chinese aerospace corporation Chinarocket will launch its Jielong 3 rocket on Friday, Dec. 26, at 06:30 UTC from the Oriental Spaceport Launch Ship at the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport in China. The vehicle will fly due south, carrying an unknown payload to orbit.
Jielong 3 first flew in 2022 and stands 32 m tall with four stages. Capable of flying 1,500 kg to LEO, the rocket is fully solid, using solid rocket motors on all four stages. This mission will be the fifth Jielong 3 mission of 2025 and the ninth overall.
Chang Zheng 3B/E launch. (Credit: Xinhua)
A Chinese Fengyun weather satellite is scheduled to launch atop a CASC Chang Zheng 3B/E (CZ-3B/E)rocket on Friday, Dec. 26, at 16:05 UTC. The CZ-3B/E will fly southeast out of Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China.
With a mass of 5,400 kg, the Fengyun-4C satellite will be launched into a geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite will monitor weather, climate conditions, agriculture, oceans, and other meteorological conditions in and around China.
The CZ-3B/E first flew in 2007 and has become one of China’s workhorse rockets. Comprised of three stages, the vehicle has a liftoff thrust of 5,986 kN and uses toxic but highly storable hypergolic propellants. CZ-3B/E stands 56.3 m tall.
This mission will mark the 174th overall mission for the CZ-3B/E and the 15th of 2025.
The final SpaceX and Falcon 9 mission of the year, CSG-3, will launch on Saturday, Dec. 27, at 6:08 PM PST (02:08 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Flying due south out of Vandenberg, Falcon 9 will fly the 2,230 kg CSG-3 satellite to SSO.
The Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean Basin Observation (COSMO) SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) program is an Earth observation satellite constellation developed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Developed to replace the first-generation COSMO-SkyMed constellation, the new CSG constellation will comprise just two satellites instead of four, and utilize an improved version of the Prima Bus spacecraft bus. An improved SAR instrument, named the CSG-SAR, is also featured on the satellites.
Artist concept of a CSG satellite in orbit. (Credit: ESA)
Falcon 9’s upper stage will insert the satellite into a 619 km SSO inclined at 97.86 degrees. The two CSG satellites will operate in the same orbital plane. Following liftoff and stage separation, Falcon booster B1081, flying on its 21st mission, will perform a return-to-launch-site landing at Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4), which is located directly adjacent to SLC-4E.
This mission will mark the final Falcon 9 launch of 2025. In total, Falcon 9 launched 166 missions in 2025 — just shy of the company’s 170 launch target — bringing the total amount of Falcon 9 missions to 584. This mission will also mark SpaceX’s 171st mission of 2025 and 611th overall.
Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M | AIST-2T 01 & 02
The final launch of the week will see a Soyuz 2.1b rocket launch two Russian optical Earth observation satellites to SSO from Site 1S at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia. Liftoff is scheduled for 13:18 UTC on Sunday, Dec. 28. In addition to the AIST-2T satellites, 20 small satellites will be deployed to SSO as rideshares.
The AIST-2T 01 and 02 satellites, developed by the Progress Rocket Space Centre, will acquire stereo images of Earth’s surface. Each satellite has a maximum resolution of 1.2m in a panchromatic mode with a 32 km swath width.
The Soyuz 2.1b for the AIST-2T 01 & 02 mission during assembly. (Credit: RKK Energia/Roscosmos)
The Soyuz 2.1b, which debuted in 2011, is similar to its sibling, the Soyuz 2.1a. Standing the same height and diameter and using the same first and second stages, the Soyuz 2.1b differs in its third and fourth stages. The third stage features an RD-0124 engine, while the fourth stage, the Fregat-M, utilizes a single S5.92 engine. The third stage uses RP-1 and LOX propellants while the Fregat-M uses hypergolic propellants.
This mission will mark the 99th overall Soyuz 2.1b mission and the sixth of 2025. Furthermore, if schedules hold, this launch will be the 323rd orbital launch attempt of 2025.
(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches from Florida. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
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