On Friday, Aug. 15, 2024, SpaceX launched the Transporter-11 rideshare mission from House Launch Complicated 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg House Pressure Base (VSFB). Liftoff occurred at 11:56 AM PT (18:56 UTC), 36 minutes right into a 53-minute launch window. On the finish of the mission SpaceX declared that every one payloads had been efficiently deployed.
Payloads had been deployed from the second stage into two Solar-synchronous orbits (SSO) at altitudes of roughly 510-520 km and 590-600 km, starting nearly an hour after launch and lasting till two hours and 36 minutes after launch. There have been a complete of 99 deployment occasions, releasing 108 spacecraft, one in all which was an orbital switch automobile (OTV) carrying hosted payloads and 5 different satellites for later deployment. SpaceX confirmed 116 complete payloads on the flight.
The Falcon 9 booster used for this flight was B1075-12, which beforehand flew SDA-0A, SARah-2, and 9 Starlink missions, all from VSFB. After stage separation, the booster returned to land on Touchdown Zone 4 (LZ-4), which sits adjoining to SLC-4E. Assist ship GO Past will get better the payload fairing halves downrange within the Pacific Ocean.
The Transporter-11 payload stack. (Credit score: SpaceX)
The second stage for this mission sported a gray stripe used to assist keep propellant temperatures throughout longer missions. Following first stage separation, the second stage performed its first burn, which lasted lower than six minutes, to succeed in an elliptical parking orbit. Then, 50 minutes after launch, it carried out a brief three-second circularization burn to succeed in the primary SSO deployment orbit at an altitude of roughly 510 by 520 km and an inclination of 97.45 levels. 4 minutes later, deployments started, with a primary batch of 69 deployments releasing 70 payloads.
An hour and 45 minutes after launch, the second stage started one other sequence of two one-second burns to succeed in the second payload deployment orbit at an altitude of roughly 590 by 600 km and an inclination of 97.75 levels. The remaining 30 deployments, releasing 38 payloads, started about two and a half hours after launch and lasted for about six minutes. After releasing all the satellites, the second stage was anticipated to conduct a ultimate burn to deorbit and reenter Earth’s environment.
This was the 81st Falcon mission of the 12 months for SpaceX. Transporter-11 was the eleventh flight since SpaceX needed to briefly floor all Falcon flights following the failure of Starlink Group 9-3 on July 11. The following SpaceX flight, a Starlink mission, is anticipated from Cape Canaveral House Pressure Station (CCSFS) in Florida on Aug. 20. The following SpaceX rideshare flights are anticipated in November, with Transporter-12 flying to SSO from VSFB and Bandwagon 2 launching to mid-inclination orbit from CCSFS.
Focusing on Friday, August 16 for a Falcon 9 launch of our eleventh devoted smallsat rideshare mission with 116 spacecraft on board from House Launch Complicated 4E in California → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK pic.twitter.com/aq36Ctg2wp
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 15, 2024
Mission overview
This was the eleventh devoted rideshare mission to SSO organized by SpaceX, with payloads ranging in dimension from picosatellites of lower than a kilogram which are only some centimeters in size to satellites massing a number of hundred kilograms. Whereas many of the payloads had been launched immediately from the launch automobile, D-Orbit’s ION automobile will deploy 5 extra satellites at a later time. Rideshare integrators dealing with payloads on this flight included Exolaunch, ISISpace, SEOPS, and Maverick.
The payload stack for this flight featured a barely revised configuration of the plates used for mounting payloads, with a hoop of CubeSat deployers across the base of the stack. There was additionally a brand new digital camera view proven wanting down from the highest of the payload stack.
SEOPS supported the launch of 5 CubeSats on this mission and launched its new Ghost Entice deployer. Primarily based on the low-profile Slingshot deployer that was used to mount CubeSats outdoors the hatch of the Cygnus cargo automobile, Ghost Entice holds the satellite tv for pc with its longest dimension in opposition to the payload stack, leading to diminished vibration throughout launch.
Exolaunch supported 42 satellites with its separation techniques and CubeSat deployers. ISISpace supported 49 satellites with its deployers. Maverick deployed three CubeSats.
Italy’s D-Orbit has its ION SCV-012 OTV, nicknamed “Magnificent Monica.” This spacecraft hosts a number of payloads and in addition carries 5 passenger satellites from Spire and AAC Clyde House for later deployment. One of many hosted payloads is anticipated to be a FireStar water-fueled plasma thruster from RocketStar.
The European House Company’s (ESA) Arctic Climate Satellite tv for pc is a prototype for a possible constellation. The 120 kg spacecraft, developed with OHB Sweden, makes use of a cross-track scanning microwave radiometer to offer atmospheric humidity and temperature soundings.
PlanetiQ has the 41 kg spacecraft GNOMES-5, which has a radio occultation payload to gather information for climate forecasting. Tomorrow.io-1 and a pair of are a pair of 6U CubeSats with microwave sounder devices for climate forecasting.
Tanager with its photo voltaic arrays deployed. Credit score: Planet
Planet will replenish its constellation of 3U SuperDove satellites with 36 extra of the spacecraft, which have 3-5 m decision multi-spectral imaging payloads. Planet additionally has its first Tanager satellite tv for pc on the flight, with a mass of 194 kg. Tanager is constructed on the identical satellite tv for pc bus as Planet’s high-resolution Pelican satellites, with the addition of a hyperspectral imager within the seen and shortwave infrared wavelengths. Tanager-1 will present information on greenhouse gasoline emissions for the nonprofit Carbon Mapper Coalition.
Norway’s NTNU has HYPSO-2, a 6U CubeSat constructed by Nanoavionics with a hyperspectral imager to watch ocean well being. Lemu Earth has Nge, a 6U CubeSat constructed by Nanoavionics with a hyperspectral digital camera from Simera Sense. Finland’s Kuva House has Hyperfield-1, a 6U CubeSat, with a hyperspectral imager.
Kanyini with its ISISpace deployer. Credit score: ISISpace
Kanyini is a 6U CubeSat from Australia constructed with a bus from Inovor Applied sciences, carrying an Web of Issues (IoT) payload from Myriota and a hyperspectral imager. Added Worth Options (AVS) has Lur-1, billed as the primary 100% Basque satellite tv for pc. This demonstration spacecraft has payloads for quantum communications and multispectral imaging with a 1.5 m decision.
WREN-1 from Hungary’s C3S is a 6U CubeSat with an imaging payload that may assist the monitoring of water assets. PhiSat-2, from ESA and Open Cosmos, is a 6U CubeSat with a multispectral imager that may exhibit utilizing AI purposes to course of pictures on orbit.
Packing Tyche for cargo. (Credit score: Surrey Satellite tv for pc Expertise)
Fraunhofer EMI has ERNST, a 12U CubeSat that may exhibit a cryocooled infrared imaging payload for the German navy, in addition to seen gentle imaging and radiation detector payloads. Tyche is a 150 kg electro-optical imaging satellite tv for pc constructed by Surrey Satellite tv for pc Expertise for the UK House Command.
Loft Orbital’s YAM-7, massing 90 kg, is carrying the VanZyl-1 thermal infrared imaging payload for Hydrosat. Satellogic has three extra high-resolution optical Earth statement satellites massing about 40 kg every, named NuSat-48/49/50.
Creotech Devices SA has EagleEye, Poland’s largest satellite tv for pc with a mass of 60 kg. EagleEye is an optical statement satellite tv for pc within the seen and NIR bands with a decision approaching one meter at its lowest operational orbit of 350 km. Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries may have CAKRA-1, an 8U CubeSat constructed by GomSpace with an imaging payload, atop Falcon 9.
iQPS workforce members with QPS-SAR-8. (Credit score: iQPS)
A number of firms have Artificial Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging satellites onboard. Capella House has Capella-15/Acadia-5, a 160 kg SAR satellite tv for pc. Umbra House will fly a tandem pair of SAR satellites, Umbra 9 and 10, which have a mass of 83 kg every. Japan’s iQPS has QPS-SAR-8 “AMATERU-IV,” which plenty round 100 kg.
ICEYE has 4 of its 90 kg SAR satellites, X33/39/40/43. These embody the primary of seven satellites for his or her clients Bayanat and Yahsat of the United Arab Emirates.
Hawkeye 360 has one other trio of formation-flying RF sensing satellites, Hawk-10A/B/C, every massing round 30 kg. Unseen Labs provides two extra satellites, BRO-14 and BRO-15, to their RF sensing constellation used for maritime monitoring. Current BRO satellites have been 8U CubeSats.
Türkiye’s Plan-S is launching 4 6U spacecraft to provoke world service for its Connecta IoT Community. Spanish agency Sateliot has 4 6U CubeSats for IoT connectivity, its first satellites produced for business service after launching earlier prototypes. Italian agency Apogeo House has 9 1/3U satellites for IoT service that may launch collectively from a single slot within the CubeSat deployer.
Spire has seven LEMUR satellites onboard, one in all which is one other 16U spacecraft for Hubble Community. Two of the LEMURs have radio occultation (RO) and reflectometry payloads for accumulating climate information and monitoring soil moisture. 4 of the LEMURs, which look like on board D-Orbit’s ION automobile, are within the 3U kind issue carrying IoT payloads for Myriota in addition to maritime Computerized Identification System (AIS) and RO payloads for Spire. AAC Clyde House has Sedna-1, a 3U CubeSat with AIS payload, additionally aboard ION.
LISA-T deployment take a look at on parabolic flight. (Credit score: NeXolve Holding, LLC)
NASA Ames has a pair of 6U CubeSats onboard. PTD-4 will exhibit the Light-weight Built-in Photo voltaic Array and AnTenna (LISA-T) developed by Marshall House Flight Middle. PTD-R will carry Deep Purple from Lawrence Livermore Nationwide Laboratory, an imaging payload utilizing side-by-side telescopes to seize ultraviolet and short-wave infrared gentle concurrently.
Nightjar, from the Taiwan House Company, is a 3U CubeSat constructed utilizing a Nanoavionics bus and an IoT communications payload from Rapidtek Expertise. TORO, from the Taiwan House Company, is a 3U CubeSat constructed utilizing a Nanoavionics bus with a visual gentle/near-infrared imaging payload from Pyras Expertise.
CUAVA-2 (6U) and Waratah Seed-1 (6U) from the College of Sydney every carry a number of know-how demonstration payloads, together with a GPS reflectometry payload on CUAVA-2. Germany’s Zentrum für Telematik has QUBE, a 3U CubeSat that features a laser communications payload for quantum key distribution.
Senegal’s first satellite tv for pc, the 1U spacecraft GaindéSat-1A, was developed with help from the House Middle of the College of Montpellier (CSUM) and accommodates an IoT and low-resolution imaging payload. ROCK and LOPEN are a pair of 1U CubeSats from Array Labs, one in all which is able to take a look at a particular coating that’s anticipated to have an effect on the spacecraft’s drag.
NearSpace Launch has TROOP-F2, a 6U CubeSat carrying hosted payloads for a number of clients, together with the Concord area memorial flight for Celestis. Aethero House has Deimos, a 1.5U CubeSat with imaging and edge computing payloads that may exhibit AI/ML purposes. Oresat0.5 is a 2U CubeSat from Portland State College that may take a look at an angle management system and a short-wave infrared sensor.
GNA-3 has an ITU submitting via Sweden, with Swedish House Company talked about within the submitting paperwork. SATORO-T2 could also be a brand new spacecraft from Taiwan’s SATORO House. UM5-EOSAT and UM5SAT-RIBAT look like related to Morocco’s Mohammed V College in Rabat (UM5R).
Notes on earlier Transporter missions
51 objects are being tracked from the Transporter-10 mission, with 15 of these nonetheless unidentified. A number of the unidentified payloads have been declared misplaced by their house owners, together with the 2 Jackal satellites and the Optimus OTV. Others nonetheless to be recognized embody CBAS-LACE 2 (the opposite satellite tv for pc on this pair has been recognized), IRIS-F1, M3, ONDOSAT-OWL-1 and -2, OrbAstro-TR2, PYXIS, the 4 PY4 spacecraft, and Veery-0E.
(Lead picture: A Falcon 9 launches the Transporter-11 mission. Credit score: SpaceX)
