SpaceX’s dedicated SmallSat rideshare program, Transporter, is designed to lower the cost of access to space for small satellite customers with rideshare flights to Earth orbit. These customers include a variety of space companies, developing nations, university programs, and new startups.

Updating Transporter-6 Payloads :

Fans inspired by Gene Roddenberry, (who launched Star Trek in 1966 with The Original Series) will have their art go to space. Some of the cubesats will be adorned with artwork and quotes that celebrate the legacy of hope and inclusiveness of Star Trek and its creator, Gene Roddenberry.
BroncoSat-1
Spaceflight
Cornicen
ISILaunch
KSF 3A-3D
D-Orbit ION
Astrocast
Momentus VR-5
SSPD-1
ZEUS-1
Exolaunch
Spire LEMUR
Skycraft
Alba Orbital Cluster 6
URESAT-1
Blackjack
Gama Alpha
Lynk Tower 2/3/4
PredaSAR
Umbra (2x)
Geometric-1
GENMAT-1
NOCLIP-1
MOXY-1
Star Vibe
YAM-5

RROCI
Menut
Kelpie

Manufactured by Hawthorne-based Launcher, Orbiter is an orbital transfer vehicle and small satellite deployment platform compatible with SpaceX's Rideshare program and Launcher’s upcoming small launch vehicle. Orbiter can perform any combination of maneuvers to modify orbit and precisely place individual satellites in their exact locations.

Orbiter’s first mission, SN1, is launching on SpaceX Transporter-6. Launcher’s customers include academia, startups, and established industry leaders.

The list of Orbiter’s first flight customers includes:

Skyline Celestial - Develops Earth's most capable and affordable personal satellites for the next generation of space exploration.

Innova Space - Designs pico-satellites and nanosatellites that aim to change the world with greater IoT connectivity. Their upcoming constellation of approximately 100 picosatellites optimized for IoT communications will provide a highly secure, bi-directional connection to any IoT device on Earth in minutes.

NPC Spacemind - A versatile Italian space company with the vision of becoming a one-stop shop for innovative products and space projects.

Bronco Space | Cal Poly Pomona – The Bronco Space student-run space research group will be launching PROVES – Yearling. Yearling will be Cal Poly Pomona’s second space mission and is intended primarily as an educational venture by giving students access to a “lab bench in space.” Yearling will also be testing new technologies to enable lower-cost CubeSat architectures that are equipped with novel Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning computing capabilities alongside a satellite-to-satellite networking demonstration with the Stanford Student Space Initiative.

Stanford Student Space initiative - Stanford’s student-run organization with the mission of giving future leaders of the space industry the hands-on experience and broader insight they need to realize the next era of space development.

Orbiter has a payload capacity of up to 400 kg and integrates with every Cube and small satellite separation system and has a propulsive capability of 500 m/s delta-V. It has six N2O cold gas thrusters for attitude control allowing precise orbital insertion.

List provided by Launcher

Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket.

Stats

Total launches: 393

Total landings: 349

Total reflights: 324

The Falcon 9 has launched 52 humans into orbit since May 2020

Specs

Height: 70 m / 229.6 ft

Diameter: 3.7 m / 12 ft

Mass: 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb

Payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb

Payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO): 8,300 kg / 18,300 lb

Payload to Mars: 4,020 kg / 8,860 lb

On January 24, 2021, Falcon 9 launched the first ride-share mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit. It was delivering a record-setting 143 satellites to space. And while this was an important mission for SpaceX in itself, it was also the moment Falcon 9 overtook United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V for the total number of consecutive successful launches.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had become America’s workhorse rocket, launching 31 times in 2021. It has already beaten that record this year, launching almost an average of once a week. While most of the launches deliver Starlink satellites to orbit, the company is still launching the most commercial payloads to orbit, too.

Falcon 9 is a medium-lift launch vehicle, with the capability to launch over 22.8 metric tonnes to low earth orbit. Unlike any other rocket, its first stage lands back on Earth after separating from its second stage. In part, this allows SpaceX to offer the cheapest option for most customers with payloads that need to reach orbit.

Under its ride-share program, a kilogram can be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit for a mere 1.1 million dollars, far cheaper than all other currently operating small satellite launch vehicles.

The reusability and fast booster turnaround times have made Falcon 9 the preferred choice for private companies and government agencies. This has allowed SpaceX to capture a huge portion of the launch market.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster.

Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) is one of two launch sites leased by SpaceX at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida, specifically designed for preparing and launching Falcon 9 rockets. Constructed in the early 1960s, SLC-40 was initially used for 55 Titan III and Titan IV rocket launches, including the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn. The pad was active from June 18, 1965, to April 30, 2005.

SpaceX began leasing SLC-40 in 2007, converting it to support Falcon 9 rockets. The pad was first upgraded to accommodate the original version of Falcon 9 and later received another upgrade in 2013 to handle the larger, reusable Falcon 9 rocket. On September 1, 2016, an explosion during a Falcon 9 fueling test caused severe damage to the pad. It was rebuilt rapidly, with construction completed in just 10 months, from mid-February to late November 2017. SLC-40 resumed operations with the successful launch of a Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on December 15, 2017.

After adding a crew access arm to the launch tower, SpaceX launched their first crewed mission from SLC-40 on Saturday, September 28th 2024 for NASA's Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.

Under SpaceX’s management, SLC-40 has been the site of numerous significant missions. Notable launches include the first all-commercial Dragon mission to the International Space Station, NASA’s DSCOVR mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for NASA and MIT, the first satellite for Turkmenistan, the classified Zuma mission for Northrop Grumman and the U.S. government, the first GPS-III satellite, and the Beresheet lunar lander for Israel. Additionally, in September 2024, SLC-40 will host its first crewed launch with SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, marking a new milestone for the pad.

Cape Canaveral is a major launch site with four currently active launch pads for Atlas V, Delta IV Heavy, Falcon 9, and Minotaur rockets. Located on Florida’s east coast, it offers extensive access to space for a variety of missions, including those targeting the Space Station, Geostationary Earth Orbit, the Moon, interplanetary destinations, and polar trajectories. The site’s location ensures that launches occur over the open Atlantic Ocean, minimizing risks to populated areas.

Cape Canaveral is often confused with or referred to alongside NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island. While they are separate installations, both play pivotal roles in the U.S. space program. Cape Canaveral has a storied history of significant space missions, including the launch of the first U.S. Earth satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958; the first U.S. astronaut, Alan Shepard, in 1961; the first U.S. astronaut in orbit, John Glenn, in 1962; the launch of the first two-person U.S. spacecraft, Gemini 3, in 1965; and the first U.S. uncrewed lunar landing mission, Surveyor 1, in 1966.

SLC-40 and Cape Canaveral continue to be integral to SpaceX’s ambitious launch schedule and the broader U.S. space program, supporting a wide range of missions and contributing to advancements in space exploration.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster

LZ-1

Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) is an 86 meter wide circular landing pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and is one of two SpaceX booster landing pads at the Florida spaceport.

Built on former Launch Complex 13, LZ-1 was the site of SpaceX's first successful landing and recovery of a Falcon 9 on the ORBCOMM-2 mission in December 2015. Since then, it has hosted 16 landings.

The landing pad, as well as its twin, LZ-2 located a few dozen meters away, can support both single landings of a Falcon 9 or simultaneous landings of the two Falcon Heavy side boosters.

Photo: Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster