A Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 140 payloads on November 28th, marking the latest dedicated rideshare mission by SpaceX. The mission, dubbed Transporter-15, carried a diverse range of cargo, including European government spacecraft and a private astronomy satellite, demonstrating the versatility of SpaceX's launch capabilities. The Falcon 9 took flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:44 p.m. Eastern.
The deployment of the 140 payloads commenced around 55 minutes post-liftoff and concluded almost 2 hours and 45 minutes later. While originally planned for earlier in the month, the launch faced delays due to temporary restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during a government shutdown, alongside other subsequent issues. The successful launch ultimately occurred after a scrub on November 26th.
The Transporter-15 mission stands out as the second-largest rideshare mission undertaken by SpaceX, carrying 140 payloads, 13 of which will be deployed later. The inaugural Transporter-1 mission in January 2021, which carried 143 payloads, remains the largest, solidifying the continued high demand for SpaceX's rideshare services. According to SpaceX this mission included a mix of new and repeat customers.
Among the payloads, Planet stood out as the largest single satellite operator, contributing 36 Dove cubesats and two Pelican high-resolution imaging satellites. Spire had 11 satellites on board, including spacecraft for its own weather and ship-tracking constellation and others it built for GHGSat and Lacuna Space. Iceye, a Finnish company specializing in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites, launched five spacecraft, including satellites for the Greek and Polish governments, and for Azalea, a system being developed by BAE Systems. This included one of Iceye’s first Gen4 satellites, capable of producing SAR imagery at 16-centimeter resolution.
Returning customers included D-Orbit, with two ION orbital transfer vehicles; Impulse Space, with its third Mira transfer vehicle; and Varda Space Industries, carrying its W-5 reentry vehicle.
Several European government payloads were also aboard Transporter-15. Besides the Iceye satellites for Greece and Poland, eight satellites for IRIDE, an Italian imaging constellation, were included. Also included were the twin HydroGNSS satellites for the European Space Agency (ESA), marking the inaugural mission under ESA’s Scout program, focused on low-cost Earth observation satellites. According to ESA HydroGNSS will study the water cycle using reflected navigation satellite signals.
A unique payload was Mauve, a commercial astronomy satellite by Blue Skies Space. This spacecraft is equipped with a small ultraviolet telescope to study stellar flares and young stars that host exoplanets. Blue Skies Space offers subscriptions providing researchers with observing time on Mauve. According to the company, universities and research institutes in Europe, Japan and North America have purchased access. Furthermore, three CTC-1 satellites, constructed by Space Telecommunications Inc., were included to test Spacecoin, a blockchain-based communications protocol. According to the company, the satellites are a precursor to a “decentralized satellite internet infrastructure” using a constellation.