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.
