Yesterday SpaceX launched one of their Falcon 9 rockets, launching 105 small satellites into space. The launch, a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket flight called Transporter-3, took off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Missions like this which carry payloads from different customers allow multiple clients to share the cost of the rocket.
Not one but three Seraphim portfolio companies were part of this ‘cosmic carpool’ the third in a series of launches from SpaceX which began in 2021.
D-Orbit launch new ION Satellite Carrier mission:
D-Orbit, the leading company in space logistics and orbital transportation, announced the launch of the latest mission of its orbital transportation vehicle (OTV), ION Satellite Carrier, aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.
ION Satellite Carrier is an OTV designed, manufactured, and operated by D-Orbit to transport satellites into orbit and release them individually into distinct and precise orbital slots in the shortest time possible. ION can also host multiple third-party payloads such as innovative technologies, experiments from research entities, and instruments requiring testing in orbit.
During this mission, dubbed “DASHING THROUGH THE STARS,’ ION will deploy customer spacecraft, perform the in-orbit demonstration of third-party payloads, and validate several innovative features that will be available to customers on future missions.
ICEEYE launch its fifteenth and sixteenth synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites into orbit:
ICEEYE, the global leader in persistent monitoring with radar satellite imaging and an expert in NatCat solutions, launched two SAR satellites into orbit. The launch included the first satellite built, licences and operated by ICEEYE US.
ICEYE’s constellation is designed to provide customers with reliable and frequent imagery enabling the rapid detection and tracking of changes on the Earth’s surface, regardless of time of day, or weather conditions. This capability is ideally suited for applications such as insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, national security, defence, humanitarian relief and climate change monitoring.
“Expanding our fleet is an important step in better serving our global customers and empowering our advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence relating to SAR technologies,” says Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE. “The new satellites add critical capability to the ICEYE constellation which translates to additional solutions and deeper analytics for our customers.”
Spire launch their first 6U LEMURs on the SpaceX Transporter3 Mission:
This was Spire’s 150th satellite into orbit a milestone for the team. Two of those 6Us are in support of the NICSAT program for the Australia Office of National Intelligence (ONI). These satellites are a continuation of Spire and ONI’s efforts to experiment with commercial satellite technologies.
