SpaceX launched the Transporter-13 rideshare mission on Friday, March 14, at 11:43 PM PDT (06:43 UTC on March 15) from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Following launch, Falcon 9 deployed more than 60 satellites into orbit. The Falcon booster supporting this mission returned to land at LZ-4.
Portfolio Payload’s:
– ICEYE: Added four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites to its existing constellation, enhancing its Earth observation capabilities.
– D-Orbit: D-Orbit launched the 17th commercial mission of its Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), ION Satellite Carrier (ION). On this mission, ION hosts onboard several satellites, including the Italian Space Agency, Arkadia Space, DPhi Space, Morpheus Space, Alba Orbital.
– Tomorrow.io: Tomorrow-S5 & -S6, developed by Tomorrow.io, are two 6U spacecraft with microwave sounder instruments to take atmospheric measurements.
– Spire: Deployed seven of its Lemur satellites, which are used for tracking ships and aircraft as well as collecting weather data.
Some of the other Payload’s onboard:
– Albedo Space: Launched Clarity-1, a satellite designed to operate in very low Earth orbit to provide high-resolution visible and thermal imagery.
– Muon Space: Deployed its FireSat Protoflight satellite, a prototype for a planned constellation aimed at wildfire monitoring and other environmental observations.
– TURION SPACE: Introduced Droid.002, a spacecraft designed for space situational awareness and space debris monitoring.
– Varda Space Industries: Launched its third reentry capsule, W-3, designed for in-space manufacturing and testing materials at hypersonic flight speeds.
Transporter-13 was the 30th Falcon mission of the year for SpaceX, taking place between two SpaceX launches from Florida in the span of 13 hours. The next SpaceX rideshare missions on the manifest are Bandwagon-3 to mid-inclination in April, a flight including NASA’s TRACERS spacecraft to SSO in mid-May, and Transporter-14 to SSO in July.
