Two separate Google space test missions are scheduled to launch 1 October 2026 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Google's MVP experimental satellite will lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California ^[4]. The MVP mission will test how Google Tensor Processing Units perform under spaceflight stress, radiation and extreme thermal conditions ^[5]. Engineers at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center have completed all environmental and physical testing for the ASCENT Dual Mode CubeSat propulsion demonstration mission ^[1]. On 28 September 2026, ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer will perform an Earth gravity assist flyby at an altitude of approximately 8,640 kilometres ^[7]. ESA has also publicly acknowledged problems with the Ariane 6 rocket ^[6]. SpaceX intends to phase out the Falcon 9 rocket once Starship becomes operationally reliable ^[2]. The USSF-385 mission is believed to be the third flight deploying the Starshield government satellite variant ^[3].