John Cruise

On a mission to promote space exploration

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Upcoming #Space launches this week:

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

India achieved a major milestone as #Vikram1, the country’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle, successfully reached low Earth orbit and deployed its payloads, making India the fourth country, after the United States (1990), New Zealand (2018), and China (2019), to do so.

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Before the planned launch of #Starship Flight 13 today, here's behind the scenes of Flight 12

https://t.co/ahyLA5r1LN

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Upcoming #Space launches this week:

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Last week, on July 6, China’s military launched an #SLBM from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South China Sea toward the South #Pacific, marking China’s first publicly known submarine-launched ballistic missile test since 1982. The U.S., Japan, Australia and New Zealand criticized the test and the short notice provided by Beijing. China described it as routine annual training that was not directed against any country.

The missile carried a dummy warhead along a roughly 7,300-kilometer flight path before landing between Nauru and Tonga. There is currently insufficient evidence to determine whether it was a JL-2, whose maximum range is close to that distance, or a JL-3, which can travel more than 12,000 kilometers. The JL-3’s longer range would allow Type 094 and next-generation ballistic-missile submarines to strike targets across the continental United States while remaining in protected waters within the first island chain.

As with the previous test in September 2024, when China launched a likely land-based DF-31 ICBM into the Pacific, Beijing did not follow established international notification procedures, instead providing the United States and several regional states with less than a day’s notice. Such limited warning can complicate efforts to independently determine the missile’s launch point, trajectory and impact area, while also leaving less time to reroute nearby aircraft and vessels away from areas potentially exposed to falling debris. This may indicate an effort to establish such launches as a recurring practice under its own notification standards.

[Israel-China Policy Center @GlazerCenter]

Following the maiden flight of the new state-owned #LongMarch10B, China successfully recovered the rocket's first-stage booster, becoming the second country, after the United States, to achieve the controlled recovery of an orbital-class first stage for future reuse. The United States first demonstrated the capability with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in 2015, followed by Blue Origin’s New Glenn in 2025.

Even such partial #RocketReusability can sharply reduce launch costs and shorten turnaround times, thereby enabling a much higher launch cadence. This is especially important for China, where limited launch capacity remains a bottleneck for deploying large satellite constellations such as Guowang and Qianfan. SpaceX has demonstrated the benefits of reuse by sustaining more than three launches per week and deploying more than 10,000 Starlink satellites since 2019, a pace China has yet to match.

Moreover, the successful recovery has broader significance for China’s human spaceflight program and its lunar ambitions. The same reusable first-stage design will also be used by the Long March 10A, which is intended to launch future Mengzhou crew missions to the Tiangong space station, replacing the aging Shenzhou spacecraft and Long March 2F/G launch system. It will also form the basis of the heavier configuration, known simply as the Long March 10, planned to support China’s crewed lunar missions by the end of the decade.

John Cruise (@johnkuruzu)

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

China successfully recovers #LongMarch10B rocket following maiden flight

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

宇宙作戦団
https://t.co/wJxZNyBGXC

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

An analysis of China’s first known strategic missile test from a nuclear submarine into the Pacific
https://t.co/Gh8YrHl7f7

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

🇺🇸 #SpaceX is scheduled for two more Starlink launches, continuing the expansion of its broadband megaconstellation. It is also set to launch Transporter-17, part of its dedicated rideshare program, carrying multiple small satellites for commercial, government, and research customers on a single Falcon 9 mission.

🇨🇳 China is preparing two notable launches: the debut flight of #LongMarch10B, a 70-meter-tall medium-lift vehicle in China’s next-generation launch architecture, and another Gravity-1 mission by Orienspace.

🇮🇳 India may also reach a major private-space milestone with #Vikram I, Skyroot Aerospace’s first orbital-class small-lift rocket. If successful, it would become India’s first privately developed rocket to reach orbit and a key test for the country’s emerging launch sector.

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

A total of 29 orbital #Space launches were completed in June 2026:
🇺🇸 United States: 17
🇨🇳 China: 10
🇪🇺 Europe: 1
🇯🇵 Japan: 1

Over the past two years, the U.S. and China together accounted for nearly 90% of all successful orbital launches worldwide.

The U.S. led with 61%, followed by China at 28.2%.

Russia, Europe, India, Japan, and others remain active players, but the launch cadence gap is substantial:
🇷🇺 Russia: 5.7%
🇪🇺 Europe: 2.2%
🇮🇳 India: 1.2%
🇯🇵 Japan: 1%
🔰 Other: 0.7%

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

So many problems with this technology... Where do I even begin?

https://t.co/GDP4xruOJV

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

10 planned #Space launches this week:
🇺🇸 6
🇨🇳 3
🇰🇷 1

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

@planet4589 I have wondered why it suddenly became 2026-U03. Thanks for the clarification!

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Looks like a busy week!

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Successful launch of Japan's H3‑30S

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Upcoming #Space Launches to Watch:
June 8-14, 2026

[John Cruise @johnkuruzu]

Global #Space launch snapshot, May 2026:
🇺🇸 13
🇨🇳 8
🇪🇺 1

The U.S. remains dominant with 61.4% of all successful orbital launches over the past two years, followed by China (27.7%) and Russia (5.9%).