Transporter-15 rideshare mission launches 140 payloads

BERLIN — A Falcon 9 launched 140 payloads on its latest dedicated rideshare mission Nov. 28, ranging from European government spacecraft to a private astronomy satellite.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:44 p.m. Eastern. The Transporter-15 mission began deploying its payloads about 55 minutes after liftoff, with the final spacecraft released nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes after liftoff.

The launch was originally scheduled for earlier this month but was postponed because of temporary restrictions on timing for commercial launches imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration during the government shutdown. Additional issues delayed the mission once those restrictions were lifted, including a scrub during a Nov. 26 launch attempt.

The 140 payloads on the launch, including 13 to be deployed later by orbital transfer vehicles, represent the second most carried on a SpaceX rideshare mission. Only the inaugural Transporter-1 mission in January 2021, with 143 payloads, carried more, underscoring sustained high demand for SpaceX’s rideshare services.

The mission included a mix of new and repeat customers. Planet was the largest single satellite operator on the flight, with 36 Dove cubesats and two Pelican high-resolution imaging satellites. Spire said it had 11 satellites on board, including spacecraft for its own weather and ship-tracking constellation and others it built for GHGSat and Lacuna Space.

Finnish company Iceye, which builds and operates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites, flew five spacecraft, including satellites for the Greek and Polish governments as well as for Azalea, a system being developed by BAE Systems. The group included one of Iceye’s first Gen4 satellites, capable of producing SAR imagery at 16-centimeter resolution.

Other returning customers included D-Orbit, which flew two of its ION orbital transfer vehicles; Impulse Space, which launched its third Mira transfer vehicle; and Varda Space Industries, which flew its W-5 reentry vehicle.

Transporter-15 also carried several European government payloads. In addition to the Iceye satellites for Greece and Poland, the mission included eight satellites for IRIDE, an Italian imaging constellation. Also aboard were the twin HydroGNSS satellites for the European Space Agency, the first mission under ESA’s Scout program of low-cost Earth observation satellites. HydroGNSS will study the water cycle using reflected navigation satellite signals.

The launch took place one day after ESA member states approved a major increase in the agency’s budget, including funding for space transportation programs intended to strengthen Europe’s autonomous access to space by supporting emerging launch vehicle developers.

Several unique payloads were also on board. One was Mauve, a commercial astronomy satellite developed by Blue Skies Space. The spacecraft carries a small ultraviolet telescope astronomers will use to study stellar flares and young stars that host exoplanets.

Blue Skies Space sells subscriptions that give researchers observing time on Mauve. Universities and research institutes in Europe, Japan and North America have purchased access, the company said.

Also aboard were three CTC-1 satellites built by Space Telecommunications Inc. to test Spacecoin, a communications protocol that uses blockchain technologies. The company plans to use the satellites to test the protocol for communications between the satellites and the ground as well as among the satellites.

The company claims the satellites are a precursor to a “decentralized satellite internet infrastructure” using a constellation but has released few details about its schedule or costs.