Author Topic: SpaceX F9 : Transporter-6 Rideshare : CCSFS SLC-40 : 3 January 2023 (14:56 UTC)  (Read 120536 times)

Offline scr00chy

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Offline zubenelgenubi

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https://www.geometricspace.ca/launch/1

This is delayed from Transporter-5.

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Geometric-1
Launch Date: Oct. 1, 2022, 4:24 p.m.
ESPA Ring port integration mission on SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket. We will deliver 12 x 6U CubeSats to Low Earth Orbit on this launch. Please contact us to reserve an allocation.
If launch time is EDT, then = 20:24 UTC
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Offline gongora

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New filing for Vigoride-5
SAT-LOA-20220504-00047

Offline scr00chy

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New filing for Vigoride-5
SAT-LOA-20220504-00047

Attached is the updated list of payloads.

Guardian-Alpha
STORK 7
ORESAT0.5
ZEUS-1
SSPD-1 (hosted)

Offline scr00chy

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Another possible payload?

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Satellite operator Prométhée has contracted mission integrator NanoAvionics to build the first nanosatellite for the French company’s planned constellation of Earth observation nanosatellites and image analysis platform.  “ProtoMéthée-1” will be based on NanoAvionics’ flight-proven 16U nanosatellite bus M16P.

In addition to the satellite with onboard camera and propulsion, NanoAvionics will also provide Prométhée with full mission services – testing, integration, launch, licensing, and initial satellite operations. The “ProtoMéthée-1” is intended to be launched towards the end of 2023 in low Earth orbit (LEO).

https://nanoavionics.com/news/nanoavionics-builds-first-nanosatellite-for-promethees-earth-observation-constellation/

It says "The “ProtoMéthée-1” is intended to be launched towards the end of 2023 in low Earth orbit (LEO)", so can't be this launch which is to happen at the end of 2022.

Sorry, I misread the year. It could still be a possible payload for Transporter-9, though.

Offline scr00chy

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Launcher announces customers for first Orbiter space tug mission

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Launcher announced May 16 that the first flight of its Orbiter vehicle, which will be on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 rideshare mission in October, will deploy satellites for six customers and carry hosted payloads for four others.

Three of the satellite customers are startups developing cubesats: Skyline Celestial, Innova Space and NPC Spacemind. Two others are student cubesat projects at Cal Poly Ponoma and Stanford University. Launcher did not disclose the identity of the sixth satellite customer.

The hosted payload customers include Cesium Astro, which will fly its Nightingale phased-array Ka-band communications system on the Orbiter vehicle. Other hosted payload customers include TRL11, a space technology startup; Beyond Burials, which offers space memorial services; and an undisclosed customer.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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https://www.launcherspace.com/updates/launcher-announces-customers-for-orbiters-inaugural-flight

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Launcher Announces Customers for Orbiter’s Inaugural Flight

Hawthorne, California
|
May 16, 2022

HAWTHORNE, CA, May 16, 2022 – Launcher, the space logistics company focused on providing access to anywhere in space at the lowest cost, today announced the customers on the first flight of its satellite transfer vehicle and hosted payload platform Orbiter. Orbiter’s first mission, SN1, is scheduled to reach orbit in October 2022 on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-6 rideshare launch. Launcher’s customers, spanning academia, startups and established industry leaders, demonstrate the growing demand for orbit transfer and hosted payload services.

The list of Orbiter’s first flight customers includes:

Deployed Spacecraft

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 compute 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.
Undisclosed customer


Hosted Payloads

CesiumAstro - Orbiter will host CesiumAstro’s Nightingale active phased array payload which will demonstrate advanced phased array communication capabilities including beam optimization, dynamic waveform switching, and dynamic link optimization on orbit.  Nightingale is a full-stack, multi-mission communication system enabling high data rate Ka-band communications in a small form factor for small satellite applications spanning LEO, Cislunar and Lunar environments.
Undisclosed customer - Orbiter to provide power and communications.
Beyond Burials - Offers affordable space memorial experiences that help family members celebrate their loved ones in a unique, meaningful, and inspiring way.‍
TRL11 - Provides technology solutions for the New Space Economy and addresses the most demanding challenges and opportunities arising from the rapid growth of space-based assets.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rideshare Lift off (Photo Courtesy of SpaceX)

On SpaceX Transporter flights, Orbiter can carry up to 400 kg of payload mass in the form of small and cube satellites. Additionally, Orbiter can support components and payloads by providing power, communications, and other commodities. Orbiter is equipped with a chemical propulsion system that uses ethane and nitrous oxide propellants, and the vehicle will initially provide up to 500 meters per second of delta-v, or change in velocity. Orbiter is designed to integrate with SpaceX Transporter 24-inch ports and maximize the available volume to its customer payload.

Due to in-house design and production of the majority of the structure, propulsion, and avionics components, Orbiter is offered to its customers at an industry-leading price of $400,000 per dedicated vehicle (excluding SpaceX flight cost). Launch and orbit transfer services are also offered to Orbiter rideshare customers at a per kilogram price of $8,000-$25,000 (including SpaceX flight cost), depending on mission requirements.


Illustration: Orbiter performing propulsive maneuvers

“We are honored to have a broad range of customers joining us on Orbiter’s first flight, including academia, early-stage companies, and more established ones. We are especially pleased to host two of these payloads on a long-duration mission– proving Orbiter’s viability and utility as a hosted satellite platform.” stated Launcher Head of Product and Business Development David Caponio.

Orbiter provides unique value to its customers by allowing them to quickly reach nearby rideshare orbits and precisely insert each spacecraft into its proper mission orbit in the most efficient way possible. The delta-v provided by Orbiter can be used to adjust altitude, inclination, and LTDN (Local Time of Descending Node) as well as local anomaly tailoring to distribute small spacecraft quickly and evenly along an entire orbital plane. Given the low additional cost for Orbiter above the SpaceX rideshare price, delta-v can be imparted to each customer spacecraft at a lower cost than implementing or expanding spacecraft resident propulsion systems. This lowers the overall capital cost of each spacecraft and extends its lifetime by maximizing the propellant remaining after reaching its proper mission orbit.

When Orbiter completes its transfer mission, the platform continues to host components and payloads for up to two years. This enables both early-stage and mature space companies to increase the heritage and technology readiness of their payload or components without the added cost of a dedicated spacecraft and ground operations infrastructure. Using the shared resources available from Orbiter, these services are provided in a more efficient manner.

“Our customers on Orbiter’s inaugural flight this October illustrate the market need for transfer and hosted payload services, which we are proud to deliver at the lowest price in the industry.” stated Max Haot, CEO of Launcher. 

Below is a summary of the Orbiter’s current flight manifest:

Mission            Launch Date

Orbiter SN1     October 1, 2022 (Full)

Orbiter SN2     January 1, 2023 (Selling Capacity)

Orbiter SN3     April 1, 2023 (Selling Capacity)

Orbiter SN4     October 1, 2023 (Selling Capacity)

To book a flight to orbit for your satellite or hosted payload, visit launcherspace.com/book or email [email protected].‍

Offline gongora

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Offline Fmedici

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The german-polish STAR VIBE cubesat is going to be part of Transporter-6:

https://scanway.pl/en/space/
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This is our first demonstration mission, which goal primarily is to verify the performance of two optical payloads: an EO telescope and a system for auto-inspection of satellites. The mission preparation began in June 2021, and the mission launch is scheduled for October 2022 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Our optical payload will be launched aboard a CubeSat 6U satellite designed and developed by our partners, German Orbital Systems.

Offline Asteroza

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Possible payload

rumor is CE-SAT 1D and 1E are launching in October on a rideshare (no specific mention of launch provider, but...)

Apparently this is being shifted, likely to Transport 8 or 9. Possible fallout from the Spaceflight Inc ban.

Offline gongora

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https://twitter.com/launcher/status/1531097624484253697
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MILESTONE: Orbiter SN1 integration has started in our clean room. This flight hardware will reach orbit via SpaceX rideshare in October carrying the payloads of our first 10 customers. Everything in this assembly (excluding fasteners) is designed and manufactured in house

Offline gongora

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SAT-LOA-20220606-00057

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The YAM-5 satellite bus will be manufactured and supplied by LeoStella. The bus design derived from the heritage design that LeoStella has produced for BlackSky Global, an Earth observation company. The satellite is 3-axis stabilized, achieves beam steering via body steering of the bus, and does not employ any form of propulsion.

The YAM-5 satellite hosts the following customer or experimental payloads:
 A customer furnished flight computer
 A longwave infrared camera
 A sensing payload
 An experimental S-band payload transmitting in the 2240-2290 MHz band and receiving in the 2067-2110 MHz band.
 An S-band Internet of Things (IoT) payload that transmits and receives in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band

Initial Orbit
 Apogee: 525 km nominal ± 25 km
 Perigee: 525 km nominal ± 25 km
 Target Inclination: 97.6° ± 0.1°
 LTDN: ~9:30 +60 minutes

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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https://twitter.com/launcher/status/1534396921602748417

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We can’t wait for @spacex’s Falcon 9 rocket to bring Orbiter to space this October. Today, our team visited SpaceX to pass an important test for our in-house developed, low cost 24”separation ring (Available for sale as a component - inquire at [email protected])

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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https://twitter.com/launcher/status/1535062816444452864

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Orbiter SN1 integration in progress. Our first ever spacecraft– we love it when a plan comes together. 🌎🚀🛰

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Delayed to November.

Momentus First Demonstration Mission Update #3

Momentus’ plans for additional launches of the Vigoride vehicle later this year and in 2023 remain as stated in the Q1 earnings call on May 10, 2022, with agreements signed with SpaceX for launches on upcoming Transporter missions in 2022 and 2023, including Transporter 6 currently targeted for November 2022. We are working to incorporate improvements identified during the current mission on the other Vigoride vehicles that we plan to fly in space during these missions.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline scr00chy

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I wonder why there is such a long gap. They did three Transporter missions in the first half of the year and now there is a 6-month gap.

Offline smoliarm

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I wonder why there is such a long gap. They did three Transporter missions in the first half of the year and now there is a 6-month gap.
IIRC, the "Transporter" Program was initially declared as "3 launches per year".
The third Transporter launch of 2021 was delayed from "late 2021" to  "Jan 2022".

Of course, if it turns out that demand for cubsat rides is much higher than three Falcon-9 a year - then SpaceX may consider more dedicated cubsat launches. Looks like this is not the case yet.

Offline Joffan

I wonder why there is such a long gap. They did three Transporter missions in the first half of the year and now there is a 6-month gap.
IIRC, the "Transporter" Program was initially declared as "3 launches per year".
The third Transporter launch of 2021 was delayed from "late 2021" to  "Jan 2022".

Of course, if it turns out that demand for cubesat rides is much higher than three Falcon-9 a year - then SpaceX may consider more dedicated cubesat launches. Looks like this is not the case yet.
My memory of the original frequency was they were looking at once per year... let's see, yes, here's where they changed to more frequently:
https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1166875475446247427

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Update from @SpaceX on its recently announced Smallsat Rideshare program:

3 annual missions now, up from 1 per year, after feedback from customers.

I'm not really surprised that they didn't hit the 3/year target in the first year. I'm more surprised that the demand has ramped up as quickly as it clearly has.
Getting through max-Q for humanity becoming fully spacefaring

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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The KSF 3A to 3D "Observer Mission" satellites that had been scheduled for Transporter 5 were delayed to Transporter 6 as "a vibration issue was detected with its original deployment method".

https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/satellites/5485-vibration-issue-delays-kleos-satellite-launch

"The launch will now take place on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission and expand its offering from 12 to 16 satellites."
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline gongora

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The KSF 3A to 3D "Observer Mission" satellites that had been scheduled for Transporter 5 were delayed to Transporter 6 as "a vibration issue was detected with its original deployment method".

https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/satellites/5485-vibration-issue-delays-kleos-satellite-launch

"The launch will now take place on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission and expand its offering from 12 to 16 satellites."

and Spaceflight hired ISILaunch to handle the deployment.

 

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