What SpaceX has planned for May 2025: Key launches and missions to watch
SpaceX is taking over the space exploration market, and their upcoming launches will be made public in May 2025 through their calendar. Their busy spaceflight schedule already has five confirmed launches in the bag next month, as detailed by Next Spaceflight. Elon Musk’s U.S. space company will carry out three launches to support the Starlink satellite system. The fourth launch will be a manned flight to the International Space Station, carrying four astronauts. These initiatives reflect their continued success and significant contribution to space exploration.
The 2025 space calendar is accompanied by a visible planets guide and skywatching forecast that will keep track of events in the sky. Though, be warned that the dates of launches are subject to change and updation, based on their progress and readiness. The first SpaceX launch in May is scheduled at 10 a.m. ET, when a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket will carry Starlink group 6-75. It is one of the most common models used by SpaceX and will launch from the Cape Canaveral site in Florida. This launch will be followed by a series of Falcon 9 Block 5 Starlink group launches.
On May 2, 2025, the Falcon 9 Block 5 will carry Starlink Group 15-3 and launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch of Falcon 9 Block 5 with Starlink Group 6-93 will be on May 5 from Cape Canaveral, and the Falcon 9 Block 5 carrying Starlink Group 6-84 will launch on May 4 from Kennedy Space Center. The final SpaceX flight for the month is the Axiom Mission 4, a manned mission of four astronauts. This flight will be a private crew rotation to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, per Next Spaceflight.
The crew for this mission includes Commander Peggy Whitson (former NASA astronaut), Shubhanshu Shukla of India, Sławosz Uznański of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. This will be India and Poland’s first crewed flight to the ISS, and Shukla will be the first Indian astronaut corps member to enter space, as per Newsweek. The mission will take fourteen days, and SpaceX is collaborating with the private company Axiom Space. Adding to the list is another mission with NASA, where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA's TRACERS mission.
NASA's Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) will launch from Vandenberg and carry two identical satellites to orbit Earth. These synchronized spacecraft will study the interactions between the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields, according to Space.com. The magnetic feedback in the atmosphere caused by solar activity will help us understand and prepare for similar incidents in the future. There are two more spaceflight missions scheduled for next month, but their dates and launch times are yet to be confirmed.
Apart from the exciting rocket launches, SpaceX also scheduled various industry events and skywatching opportunities. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers conducte a spacewalk on the ISS to change a space station communications antenna and install a mounting bracket. The 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit is scheduled to happen next month, and experts from related fields are noted to gather. There will also be a Full Flower Moon to witness and an open platform event to share research and discussions on extraterrestrial life, as per Space.com.
