SpaceX Targets Tuesday Starlink Launch; Rocket Lab Warns Neutron Debut May Slip to 2027

SpaceX scrubbed a Starlink mission and rescheduled for Tuesday, while Rocket Lab cautioned that its Neutron rocket's debut could slide into 2027 and announced Kepler as the first dedicated customer.

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SpaceX is set to try again on Tuesday for the launch of its Starlink 10-19 mission, after a scrub on Aug. 10. The company now targets a liftoff at 10:26 a.m. EDT (1426 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. According to the 45th Weather Squadron, conditions are 90 percent favorable at the opening of the launch window, dropping to 75 percent later in the window.

This will be the 72nd Starlink flight of 2026. If it goes off as planned, it will be the 93rd Falcon 9 launch of the year. The Falcon 9 booster designated B1085 will be flying its 18th mission, having previously supported NASA's Crew-9, GPS III-7, and Fram2. After liftoff, the booster is scheduled to land on the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" positioned in the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina, about 8.5 minutes after launch. A successful touchdown would mark the 163rd landing on that droneship and the 647th Falcon booster recovery overall.

Meanwhile, Rocket Lab has signaled that the debut of its Neutron rocket may not happen until 2027, as the window for a 2026 launch narrows. The company said that production of the Stage 1 tank is aligned with a target delivery to the launch pad in the fourth quarter of 2026. Neutron, first announced in March 2021, stands 43 meters (141 feet) tall and is powered by liquid methane, with a reusable first stage and actuating payload fairing halves. The schedule has already slipped once this year: on Jan. 21, 2026, the first stage fuel tank ruptured during a hydrostatic pressure trial, pushing the debut from mid-2026 to late 2026.

Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck acknowledged the challenges ahead, including the integrated static fire test at the launch pad in Virginia, which he called the highest-risk milestone. "The stage testing is always the thing that gets your adrenaline running because you have fully fueled vehicles on the pad and you're igniting the engines for the first time," he said. Beck also referenced the Blue Origin New Glenn explosion during a static fire test on May 28, 2026, underscoring the risks of such tests. On reusability, he said: "As we're working forward with the vehicle right now... it's really about how do we get to flight ten in the shortest time possible."

Despite the potential delay, Rocket Lab has more than half a dozen customers lined up for Neutron flights. The rocket is also eligible for National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 task orders, and the company holds a $397 million contract with the U.S. Space Force for the SB-AMTI program satellites.

In a related announcement, Kepler Communications has been selected for a dedicated Neutron launch no earlier than 2028, marking the first time the Canadian company has booked an entire rocket. The mission will deploy multiple satellites to low Earth orbit for optical connectivity, on-orbit compute, and hosted payload capacity, though the number of satellites was not disclosed. Kepler has previously launched 33 satellites on rideshare missions since 2018, including on Long March 11, PSLV-CA, Soyuz-2.1a, and Falcon 9, with the most recent in January 2026 on a SpaceX Twilight mission. Kepler Chief Revenue Officer Beau Jarvis said: "Securing our first dedicated launch reflects the next stage of growth for Kepler."