Weekend SpaceX Bandwagon Mission Launches 18 Payloads to Mid-Inclination Orbit

SpaceX launches the Bandwagon-4 mission early on Nov. 2. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX’s fourth Bandwagon mission over the weekend launched 18 payloads to orbit. The mission was launched early Sunday morning at 1:09 a.m. ET on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 

The Bandwagon mission collection differs from the Transporter rideshare missions as a result of it launches satellites to mid-inclination orbit, whereas the Transporter missions launch to a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

Vast launched its Haven Demo on the mission, which is able to take a look at lots of Vast’s methods to tell its first business house station, Haven-1, which is about to launch subsequent yr. Vast confirmed after the launch that deployment was profitable and the spacecraft is producing energy from its photo voltaic arrays. 

The mission included three artificial aperture radar (SAR) satellites for Space42 by a collaboration with Iceye. These three satellites — Foresight-3, 4, and 5 — had been the primary satellites to undergo meeting, integration, and testing (AIT) within the United Arab Emirates beneath the partnership with Iceye.

Exolaunch deployed the Iceye satellites, deploying 13 of the satellites on the mission. Exolaunch additionally deployed a satellite tv for pc for Turkish firm Fergani Space; one satellite tv for pc for Spire; 4 “Taurus” IoT satellites for Turkish firm Gumush Aerospace; and CevroSat-1, a microsatellite for Czech firm ČVC Electronic. 

Exolaunch additionally deployed 4 satellites — SEMI-1 by SEMI-4, for an unnamed buyer. 

Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) launched the fourth SAR satellite tv for pc within the Korea 425 Project constellation. 

And climate know-how firm Tomorrow.io had two satellites on the mission. Both ADD and Tomorrow.io had been on the earlier Bandwagon mission in April.