SpaceX sets record for most satellites launched on a single mission

Already on Saturday morning, SpaceX will launch the first dedicated mission of a rideshare program it announced in late 2019. As part of that plan, the company sought to group dozens of small satellites for regular launches on its heavy-duty Falcon 9 rocket.

There appears to have been a lot of interest in the program, which offered a very low price of $ 15,000 per kilogram delivered in an orbit synchronized with the Sun. For its first “Transporter-1 mission”, SpaceX said it will launch 133 commercial spacecraft and government agencies, as well as 10 of its own Starlink satellites. SpaceX had to obtain permission to deploy these Starlink satellites in a polar orbit.

With this launch of 143 satellites in total, SpaceX will surpass the previous record holder for most satellites launched on a single mission, established by an Indian launch vehicle in 2017. In February of that year, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle delivered with success 104 satellites in a handful of different orbits synchronized with the Sun.

SpaceX did not reveal many details about the popularity of its travel-sharing program, nor did the company announce the number of cargo booked in future launches. However, several customers said they were surprised by the cost and speed of the service that SpaceX offered. Last year, after booking a shared Starlink flight that flew in the summer of 2020, satellite operator Planet publicly discussed how quickly the deal was closed.

“This is the result of SpaceX’s dramatic reduction in the cost of accessing the launch,” said Mike Safyan, vice president of launch for Planet, in June. “It’s significant. They cut the price so much that we could hardly believe what we were seeing.”

Planet is launching 48 of your SuperDove satellites in the Transporter-1 mission.

The mission will be followed closely by small satellite rocket companies, including Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit, which now have proven drivers, as well as companies that are still developing their rockets. Although smaller rockets can offer dedicated service for small satellites, placing them one or two at a time, it will be difficult to compete with SpaceX in price. Competitors will be watching to see how the dispersion of the satellites will be ordered – according to the SpaceX schedule for the mission, the deployment will take place in 12 waves.

Weather is a moderate concern for Saturday’s launch attempt, which is scheduled for 9:40 am ET (2:40 pm UTC) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. According to meteorologists, there is a 40 percent chance of climate violations due to thick clouds and cumulus clouds. The climate in the reinforcement recovery area looks good.

The first stage of this rocket will make its fifth flight. He made his debut in May 2020 with the historic Demo-2 mission that transported Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. Since then, it has flown every two months. He last launched a NASA cargo supply mission to the International Space Station on December 6.

A webcast should start about 15 minutes before the launch window opens on Saturday morning.

List image by Trevor Mahlmann