SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the Transporter-15 rideshare mission at 1844 UTC, on Friday(Nov. 28), from Space Launch Complex-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with the Falcon first stage booster(B1071) completing its 30th flight. The mission delivered 140 spacecraft into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), marking the largest rideshare mission to date for SpaceX's Transporter program.

B1071, successfully performed an autonomous landing on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, marking the 165th landing on that drone ship and the 540th booster landing in SpaceX’s history. The booster has previously launched 18 Starlink missions, four rideshare missions, five national security missions and two missions carrying Earth-observation satellites.

SpaceX, during this mission, also reflighted the payload fairing -- the clamshell-like nose cone protecting the satellite payload -- which appeared weathered from past flights much like the first-stage booster. "Those fairings will make their way back to Earth for recovery," a SpaceX spokesperson said during live launch commentary.

The Falcon 9 second stage performed five burns to precisely deliver the payloads to their designated orbital inclinations. Deployment sequence which occurred over 2 hours 43 minutes, began about 54 minutes after liftoff with the Toro2 spacecraft and concluded nearly two hours later with the deployment of NASA’s Realizing Rapid, Reduced-cost high-Risk Research (R5) CubeSat. Not all of Transporter-15's payloads were confirmed or identified before launch.

The mission featured a complex sequence involving multiple payload integrators, with Exolaunch managing 59 satellites for over 30 customers across 16 countries, including the United States, Germany, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. This marked the largest number of satellites Exolaunch has launched on a single rideshare mission to date.

Exolaunch deployed its new CarboNIX NEO separation system for the first time on this mission, which features a stronger, stiffer clamp ring capable of handling higher loads and heavier spacecraft than previous systems  Other key payload providers included SEOPS, Leaf Space, various universities and educational institutions, Planet Labs which launched 36 Flock 4H imaging satellites, and Spire which sent 11 spacecraft.

Additional missions on Transporter-15 included D-Orbit’s ION Satellite Carrier Vehicles deploying satellites for European Space Agency(ESA) and other organizations, Impulse Space’s LEO Express 3 mission testing new solar arrays and propulsion systems, and Varda Space Industries launching its fifth W-series spacecraft for on-orbit manufacturing.

ESA's HydroGNSS-1 and HydroGNSS-2 satellites are flying as part of the agency's first Scout mission. They will study Earth's water cycle using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry measurement technique to quite literally "scout for water," according to ESA.

Taiwan launched its FORMOSAT-8A Earth-imaging satellite, as well as three domestically built cubesats: Bellbird-1, Black Kite-1 and TORO-8U-1, from Tron Future Tech, Rapidtek Technologies Inc. and Pyras Technology Inc., respectively. They are designed to test high-speed data transferal communications, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and conduct remote sensing to monitor algae, plankton and ocean health.

The Pelican imaging satellites 5 and 6, as well as 36 SuperDoves in the "Flock 4H" group, all built by the California-based firm Planet Labs, are also riding on the Transporter-15 mission. Planet Labs' expanding Earth-observation Pelican network is designed to "efficiently capture fleeting and emerging events, especially those that may anticipate new patterns or risks," the company's website says. The accompanying SuperDoves will join Planet Labs' PlanetScope monitoring mission.

SEOPS is using the Transporter-15 flight to demonstrate its custom payload integration capabilities with the deployment of a wide range of student-built, scientific and commercial spacecraft. Those vehicles include four payloads managed by Alba Orbital. Also flying is Hungary's HUNITY, a new "pocketqube" platform for even smaller cubesats, measuring as small as 2 inches (5 centimeters). Two of these pocketqubes are SARI-1 and SARI-2 from the Saudi space agency, which will perform telemetry, IoT experiments and other research. Alba is also flying the ANISCSAT mission from Azerbaijan, which will study environmental conditions in LEO.

SEOPS is managing two cubesats for CS3, called WISDOM and Mauve. WISDOM, part of ESA’s NAVISP program, will test collision avoidance and deorbiting technologies using a 6U cubesat that will separate into two individual 3U spacecraft, while Mauve, a 16U cubesat, will conduct ultraviolet astronomy using a 13-cm telescope.

SEOPS is also handling NASA’s 3UCubed-A, designed to measure precipitating electrons and ultraviolet emissions at Earth's poles, SatRev's PW-6U Earth-imaging satellite for customers in the agricultural and energy industries, and TRYAD-1 and 2, lightning observation satellites built by students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Auburn University, and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

A large portion of the satellites on Transporter-15 will be supported by Leaf Space. In a demonstration of its growing ground infrastructure, the Italian company will add 31 of Transporter-15's payloads to its Leaf Line ground station network — roughly 30% of the launch's total spacecraft. Those 31 will join 140 spacecraft that utilize the network, operated by various commercial customers who rely on Leaf Space for tracking and telemetry data.

Friday's mission was part of SpaceX’s ongoing SmallSat Rideshare Program, which has seen multiple launches in 2025, including previous Transporter and Bandwagon missions. Transporter-15 had been delayed since Nov. 19, with SpaceX calling off a launch attempt on Wednesday, just 15 minutes before liftoff.

Michelle Ritter, a 31-year-old tech entrepreneur, has filed a detailed court complaint accusing former Google CEO Eric Schmidt of rape, covert surveillance, and a pattern of physical and emotional abuse during their four-year relationship and joint business ventures, with allegations including forced sexual encounters, hidden camera footage of her nude, and the installation of spyware on her devices.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, details multiple incidents of abuse, including a rape allegation in a shower and a sexual assault in August 2023, at Burning Man while she was asleep, alongside claims of digital surveillance and stalking.

“I clearly told him ‘no’ and tried to get him to stop, but I had learned that attempting to resist physically would be futile and make things worse,” her declaration reads.

Ritter alleges Schmidt followed her into a shower, slammed her against the wall, and forcibly raped her, stating she begged him to stop and cried out that he was hurting her, but he ignored her pleas.

“He followed me into a shower, slammed me against the wall, and forcibly raped me,” Ritter alleged. “I begged him to stop and cried out that he was hurting me, but he ignored my pleas. The next morning, Schmidt attempted to convince me that I enjoyed the assault.”

The 31-year-old claims Schmidt secretly photographed her nude on multiple occasions, including entering the bathroom while she showered, and pressured her with sexual fetishes while making degrading comments about her appearance.

“On multiple occasions, Schmidt surreptitiously photographed me without my consent while I was nude, including entering the bathroom to take photographs while I was showering,” she states.

Ritter describes Schmidt as “erratic,” alleging he undressed and exposed himself to his private jet’s flight crew and transported marijuana on the plane.

She also accuses Schmidt of pressuring her to appear “really hot and sexy” at business meetings, urged her to use prescription stimulants for weight loss — only to later mock her for looking “emaciated.”

In front of colleagues, he allegedly made demeaning comments, including: “You should see her naked,” soliciting remarks on how “sexy” she looked, and saying after she misspoke: “At least she’s good looking.”

Ritter asserts that Schmidt installed spyware on her devices in 2021, giving him access to her emails, documents, and texts, and alleges he created a "backdoor" to Google servers to access private information about her and employees.

“On various occasions, Ritter would be using her email account or Google Workspace and saw emails and documents being deleted or altered as if someone else were controlling her keystrokes,” the filing states.

The relationship ended after photos surfaced in early 2024 of Schmidt with a 22-year-old woman, according to court documents. Post-breakup, Ritter alleges the surveillance escalated.

Ritter further alleges that Schmidt broke into her Tesla outside Nobu Malibu on November 7, 2024, stealing her laptop, with restaurant security cameras reportedly capturing the incident.

The 31-year-old claims Schmidt used his technical expertise and wealth to monitor her communications, stating, “I literally cannot have a private phone call or send a private email without surveillance,” and that he locked her out of their shared home and the startup Steel Perlot.

Schmidt’s lawyer and ex-Harvey Weinstein attorney, Patricia Glaser, has rejected the allegations as “false and defamatory,” arguing the dispute stems from Ritter’s mismanagement of their startup and accusing her of attempting to extort him.

“This is the latest desperate and destructive effort to publish false and defamatory statements – which are directly contradicted by her own words – to distract attention and escape accountability from a longstanding business dispute,” Glaser said.

The case, which began with sealed filings in September 2024, is currently tangled in arbitration disputes, with a court hearing scheduled for December 4, 2025.

Schmidt, then 65 and retired from Google with a net worth of $48.3 billion, was married but reportedly in an open relationship with his wife of 45 years, Wendy Schmidt. He was Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011.

Ritter, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree and MBA from Columbia University, met Schmidt, a major Democrat donor, in September 2020 through a business contact. At the time, she was 26 and pitching StarX Networks, a company that allowed fans to invest in athletes’ performance.

Together, they launched Steel Perlot, a startup incubator that helped launch companies such as Keeta, a payment network now valued at $161 million.

Ritter claims she helped edit Schmidt’s book with Henry Kissinger, advised on a Biden administration appointment, drafted Senate testimony, and influenced his bid for the Washington Commanders NFL team.

Schmidt has been linked to other younger women, including fashion designer Shoshanna Gruss, former Olympic skater Alexandra Duisberg. socialite Ulla Parker, and former CNBC correspondent Kate Bohner.