en.Wedoany.com Reported - SpaceX successfully deployed 81 payloads into orbit during its Transporter-17 rideshare mission. The launch took place early Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California using a Falcon 9 rocket, lifting off at 12:12 a.m. Pacific Time (3:12 a.m. Eastern Time).
The mission carried several satellites making their debut. Apex Space launched its first Nova satellite to validate the Nova platform architecture. Planet Labs launched Pelican-11, a technology demonstration satellite for its second-generation Pelican fleet. The first satellites of the Earth Fire Alliance (EFA) FireSat constellation, built by Muon Space, also entered orbit on this mission, designed to identify early wildfire ignition points and track active fires.
Additionally, French radio frequency detection company Unseenlabs deployed the first satellite of its second-generation (Gen 2) constellation, aiming to expand its RF detection capabilities to multi-domain situational awareness covering oceans, land, and space. City Labs launched its BOHR satellite, which the company describes as the world's first commercial nuclear-powered satellite and the first nuclear CubeSat. The satellite will utilize City Labs' NanoTritium tritium photovoltaic technology as a dedicated payload power source.
NearSpace Launch, Inc. (NSL) launched three satellites on the SPEAR-1 mission to support U.S. national security missions. Open Cosmos carried two satellites: Posidònia, the first satellite of the Balearic Islands; and Hyperion GR-1, the first of seven satellites in Open Cosmos' Greek constellation. Spire Global carried 10 Lemur-2 satellites for multiple customers, three of which are owned by Deloitte.
Rideshare integrator Exolaunch deployed 49 customer satellites on this mission, including four for Iceye. Another rideshare integrator, SEOPS, integrated 10 customer spacecraft, including a satellite from FOSSA Systems, satellites from NearSpace Launch, and R5 Spacecraft 9 (developed by Sandia National Laboratory in collaboration with NASA).
