A Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying satellites and orbital transfer vehicles for multiple customers, continuing SpaceX’s growing rideshare launch program.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
SpaceX launched 81 payloads into orbit early Tuesday on a Falcon 9 rocket, completing its 17th dedicated Transporter rideshare mission and adding to the company’s expanding commercial launch business.
The Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:12 a.m. ET on the Transporter-17 mission, carrying a mix of cubesats, microsatellites, hosted payloads and orbital transfer vehicles, Space.com reported.
SpaceX said the mission manifest included 81 payloads. Some satellites will be deployed later by orbital transfer vehicles after reaching orbit. Those vehicles are carrying eight satellites scheduled for later release.
The largest spacecraft aboard the mission was South Korea’s CAS500-4 Earth observation satellite, which weighs about 1,100 pounds. It is the fourth satellite in South Korea’s planned five-satellite Compact Advanced Satellite 500 constellation in low Earth orbit.
CAS500-4 is designed to monitor crops, forests and other environmental conditions.
About 8½ minutes after launch, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster returned to Earth and landed on the SpaceX droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. The landing marked the booster’s 11th flight and recovery.
While the booster returned to the droneship, the rocket’s upper stage continued toward low Earth orbit. Satellite deployments were scheduled to begin about 50 minutes after liftoff.
Transporter-17 is part of SpaceX’s dedicated rideshare program, which allows multiple commercial, government and international customers to place satellites on a single Falcon 9 launch. SpaceX also operates a separate Bandwagon rideshare series, which has completed four missions.
Including Tuesday’s launch, the prior 20 Transporter and Bandwagon missions have delivered more than 1,800 payloads to orbit. SpaceX’s first Transporter mission in January 2021 carried 143 payloads, setting a single-launch record.
Tuesday’s flight was SpaceX’s 79th Falcon 9 launch of 2026. Nearly 80% of the company’s Falcon 9 launches this year have been used to expand the Starlink broadband satellite constellation in low Earth orbit.
At the same time, SpaceX has continued using Falcon 9 to support rideshare missions for outside customers, giving smaller satellite operators access to orbit through shared launches rather than dedicated flights.
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