On the heels of a busy April, activity is ramping up for May with launches from five countries and six launch sites on three continents this week. A new orbital launch site in Australia is scheduled to make its debut, with launches from sites in India, China, New Zealand, and the United States expected as well.
Australian launch provider Gilmour Space is preparing its Eris orbital rocket for its first flight from a launch site in Bowen, Queensland, Australia. Across the Tasman Sea, Rocket Lab is preparing an Electron to fly an Earth observation satellite for iQPS. The Indian Space Research Organisation is planning its own Earth observation satellite launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India.
A pair of launches is planned from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China, including one with the methane-fueled ZhuQue-2E. Finally, SpaceX was planning four Falcon 9 launches with Starlink satellites from its pads in California and Florida, with two of them already having flown.