WASHINGTON — The latest SpaceX rideshare mission Jan. 14 deployed more than 130 satellites, ranging from dozens of Earth imaging satellites to reentry vehicles, tugs and even a “selfie sat.”
A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:09 p.m. Eastern on the Transporter-12 mission. The rocket’s first stage, on its second flight, landed back at the launch site as the second stage went into a sun-synchronous orbit.
SpaceX said the Transporter-12 mission carried 131 payloads, counting 14 payloads on orbital transfer vehicles that will be deployed later. Planet was the largest single customer on the mission, with 36 of its Dove imaging cubesats and its second Pelican high-resolution imaging satellite.
Several other companies and organizations had imaging satellites on Transporter-12, including returning customers Iceye and Satellogic. The UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre launched MBZ-Sat, a 750-kilogram high-resolution imaging satellite that was the largest single payload on the mission.
Pixxel, an Indian startup developing hyperspectral satellites, launched its first three Firefly high-resolution satellites on the mission. The company, which raised $24 million in December as an extension to its Series B round, plans to use the funding to help deploy an 18-satellite constellation and build out an analytics platform.
“The successful deployment of our first commercial satellites is a defining moment for Pixxel and a giant leap toward redefining how we use space technology to address the planet’s challenges,” Awais Ahmed, co-founder and chief executive of Pixxel, said in a statement.
D-Orbit included its latest orbital transfer vehicles, called SCV Amazing Antonius and SCV Eminent Emmanuel, on Transporter-12 while Impulse Space flew LEO Express-2, the second flight of its Mira vehicle. Impulse Space said LEO Express-2 will deploy cubesats for FOSSA Systems and SatRev and carry a hosted payload for HEO to…
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