The Falcon 9 missile is on the launch pad in Florida before the Transporter-1 mission is launched.
SpaceX
SpaceX launched another rocket in the record books on Sunday with the first mission of its “rideshare” program with dozens of small satellites into space.
The Falcon 9 rocket, which took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, orbited 143 spacecraft – a new worldwide record for the largest number of spacecraft launched at the same time, surpassing the limit of 104 from an Indian PSLV rocket in February 2017.
The SpaceX mission, dubbed Transporter-1, was the first of the company’s SmallSat Rideshare program.
While SpaceX is promoting a launch of a Falcon 9 dedicated to a single satellite for $ 62 million, the company’s SmallSat Rideshare launches give smaller satellites – as small as the size of a letterbox – an option to enter orbit. to bring the earth for only $ 1 million for 200 kilograms.
Such rhythm missions are increasingly common in the space industry, with international competitors such as Arianespace’s Vega looking to claim some of the growing small satellite market.
Rideshare missions provide another option for low-cost satellites looking to ride to Earth orbit, with smaller rockets like Rocket Lab’s Electron offering a more tailored approach.
“SpaceX offers a competitive ride-sharing option, leveraging largely on the Starlink launches,” Phil Smith, senior analyst at Bryce Space and Technology, told CNBC.
The SpaceX service isn’t entirely on demand, Smith said, but companies can pay a premium to launch on their schedule, rather than the primary customer’s schedule.
“There is a fairly reliable ‘bus route’ available,” Smith said of SpaceX, “while I suppose you could compare companies like Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit to taxis that get your satellite to your desired destination as quickly as possible.”
Elon Musk’s company has launched 133 satellites for a wide variety of government and private customers, as well as 10 proprietary Starlink satellites.
SpaceX’s customers aboard Transporter-1 include: Planet Labs, Exolaunch, D-Orbit, Kepler Communications, Spaceflight Inc, Nanoracks, NASA and Capella Space, as well as iQPS, Loft Orbital, Spire Global, ICEYE, HawkEye 360, Astrocast and the University of South Florida Institute of Applied Engineering.
Notably, the 10 Starlink satellites aboard this mission will be the first in the constellation to be deployed in polar orbit as the company continues to expand public access to its satellite Internet network. Those 10 satellites were added after Momentus pulled its first Vigoride mission from Transporter-1 launch earlier this month. Momentus cited the additional time required for regulatory approval as the cause of the change.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live programming of working days from around the world.