LaunchLEOStartups

SpaceX Launches Transporter-5

SpaceX launches Transporter-5 on May 25 2022

SpaceX launched Transporter-5 yesterday. That’s non-news for most of you by now, but it’s still worth running through the numbers and firsts of this mission. Transporter-5 had 59 spacecraft on its manifest, ranging from cubesats to hosted payloads to orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs). 

  • (F)light work: Transporter-5’s booster (tail name B1061-8) previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, a Starlink mission, and Transporter-4.
  • Return to Earth: B1061-8 has now launched and landed eight times. 
  • All-time stats: Falcon 9’s 156th flight, SpaceX launch #22 for ‘22, and 99th booster re-flight. Wen 100? 

It’s transfer time

Three of Transporter-5’s five payloads were OTVs/satellite dispensers. 

  1. Momentus ($MNTS) launched Vigoride with a number of customer payloads. The OTV has already deployed its first satellite, with more to follow in the coming days.
  2. Spaceflight’s new Sherpa-AC vehicle is carrying five spacecraft for Xona Space, NearSpace Launch, the US Missile Defense Agency, and MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory.
  3. D-Orbit launched its sixth ION Satellite Carrier, with two deployable cubesats and a pair of hosted payloads. 

Exolaunch, who we recently spoke with, launched 21 satellites from 11 countries on Transporter-5 for Spire ($SPIR), Satellogic ($SATL), NanoAvionics, Omnispace, Thales Alenia Space, and more. 

Exolaunch Transporter-5 infographic, showing the various payloads that launched on SpaceX's Transporter-5 mission. 21 satellites, 11 countries, 9 carbonixes, 6 exopods, and 4 exoports.
Image: Exolaunch

Payload-curated Transporter-5 highlights

IBM launched a cubesat, ICEYE conducted its largest satellite launch to date, HawkEye 360 grew its RF-monitoring satellite constellation to 15, and Xona became the first private company to launch a GPS satellite into space. Technically GNSS, but who’s counting? Finally, Nanoracks and Maxar launched the Outpost Mars Demo-1, an experimental vehicle that will demonstrate metal cutting in space.

The vibes: If you glanced at any space-focused Twitter or LinkedIn feeds yesterday, you could feel it in the air. Payload Twitter bestie Michael Madrid, who works at Starfish Space, summed it up best: 

Related Stories
Deep SpaceEuropeStartups

For Pulsar Fusion, Business is Bigger in Texas

UK nuclear propulsion startup Pulsar Fusion has dreams of ferrying rockets to the Moon, Mars, and Saturn—but first, they’re headed to Texas.

LaunchPolicy

Why Is SpaceX The Master of Launch?

Billions of dollars have yet to buy a SpaceX competitor.

EuropeInternationalLaunch

The UK’s Launch Timelines are Slipping

SaxaVord spaceport is the only launch site in the UK that can host vertical launches, and the limited capacity has created a traffic jam.

Launch

Dawn’s Aurora Spaceplane Will Fly From Oklahoma

“There’s actually a lot of aerospace there [with] no space access at all. It’s a very underserved area,” Dawn Aerospace CEO Stefan Powell told Payload. “It’s kind of like the last link in the chain in making space access happen in the interior of the country.”