SpaceX is aiming to launch its 15th Transporter rideshare mission on Tuesday—which means German launch integrator Exolaunch is working behind the scenes to make sure dozens of satellites are integrated and ready to deploy on orbit without a hitch.
The flight will be Exolaunch’s busiest rideshare mission to date. Exolaunch is managing 58 satellites from 30+ customers across 16 countries—but that’s nothing compared to what they have in store.
Started from the bottom: Since the beginning of SpaceX’s rideshare program, Exolaunch has been a constant presence. The company has supported satellites on board every Transporter mission to date, as well as on every Bandwagon flight, a handful of Starlink rideshares (before the inception of Transporter), and a smattering of other SpaceX launches with extra space on board.
“I do feel we are extensions of each other’s teams here to serve the small sat market,” Exolaunch VP of Global Business Development Kier Fortier told Payload. “SpaceX stood up Transporter, they announced it, and in many ways, I feel that we’ve built it together.”
In total, Exolaunch has flown 477 satellites with SpaceX (421 on Transporter flights), and 595 across all launch providers, according to company data. Transporter-15 will bring the company past the 650 mark, and next year, Exolaunch plans to deploy hundreds more.
The company seems to be buying up capacity wherever it can, and has signed agreements for slots on SpaceX flights through 2028.
“On the first few missions we procured slots sometimes half a year in advance, and fully based on the demand that we had,” said Jeanne Allarie, Exolaunch’s chief investor relations officer. “On the upcoming missions, we procure everything which is available at this point.”
Now we here: Exolaunch has positioned itself to expand well beyond SpaceX as launch demand booms, framing its business as the most experienced and reliable for getting customers to space—no matter the vehicle.
“No one is doing this at this scale besides us and SpaceX at this time, so it’s super unique expertise that we bring,” Fortier said. “We’re laying the groundwork…Ultimately, we want to provide our customers with as many options as possible to meet their mission requirements.”
Exolaunch has signed agreements over the past few years to support payloads on a growing list of upcoming launch vehicles, across the US, Europe, Asia. Under these agreements, Exolaunch works alongside companies to ensure that new rockets are compatible with Exolaunch hardware early in the design process. Exolaunch has also partnered with newer launch sites to collaborate on ground infrastructure that’s built for streamlined integrations.
What’s next: Exolaunch’s endgame is to build a suite of capabilities that can fit onto any system that’s getting to space. The goal is to work with as many launch providers as possible, and offer as much choice to customers looking to reach any point in space, officials said.
To that end, they’re even beginning to move beyond launch vehicles.
- With the announcement of EXOpod Air, an ultralightweight cubesat deployer that’s expected to launch next year, Exolaunch is building the ability to manage secondary deployments on board orbital transfer vehicles as those flights increase.
- Exolaunch has also supported satellite deployments riding on Intuitive Machine’s IM-2 mission to the Moon, and expects to continue hitching rides on future flights to distant orbits and cislunar space, according to Fortier.
