Image: @SpaceX on Twitter
SpaceX on Friday morning launched the Transporter-4 rideshare mission from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying 40 small satellites and spacecraft to sun-synchronous orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/98AatbJNTO
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2022
This particular Falcon-9 rocket has previously supported the Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, and IXPE missions, as well as one Starlink launch. Transporter-4 is SpaceX’s fourth dedicated smallsat rideshare mission, carrying cargo for both commercial and government customers.
The mission’s full payload includes CubeSats, microsats, picosats, non-deploying hosted payloads, and an orbital transfer vehicle carrying spacecraft to be deployed at a later time.
Approximately 10 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship pic.twitter.com/UZ0OWJJOy5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2022
The Falcon 9’s second stage initiated the payload deployment sequence approximately 22 minutes after liftoff.
Start of rideshare deployment sequence confirmed
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2022
You can watch SpaceX’s full webcast of the Transporter-4 mission on the company’s website and YouTube.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Monday that the company’s Falcon rocket team is “making excellent progress,” adding that SpaceX is now aiming for a whopping 60 launches over the course of this year. Musk also said that SpaceX is expecting to have over 4,200 Starlink satellites in operation within 18 months.
