Transporter-8 saw Exolaunch surpass its 300th satellite launched.
On this landmark mission, we deployed 32 satellites, bringing our
flight heritage to a total of 323 satellites launched. This SpaceX
dedicated rideshare mission lifted-off on a Falcon 9 on June 12,
2023 at 2:35pm PT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California,
USA.
On its fourth mission this year, Exolaunch manifested a roster of
11 international customers, headlining long-standing customers
Spire,
ICEYE,
Satellogic,
Kongsberg NanoAvionics,
Satlantis,
Swarm Technologies,
and
TU Stuttgart.
In addition, we were very pleased to welcome new customers
Aerospacelab,
Muon Space,
Turion Space
and
Azista BST Aerospace.
Our manifest on
Transporter-8 features satellites
intended for a diverse range of applications, including Earth
observation, methane emissions monitoring, scientific experiments
and more in a showcase of the Transporter program's broad appeal
in the NewSpace sector.
Transporter-8 marked a turning point in Falcon 9 rideshare
missions as the first launch to utilize SpaceX’s modular
Rideshare Plates to accommodate the mission’s payloads. Under
our ongoing Multi-Launch Agreements with SpaceX, we provided our
proprietary
EXOpod / EXOpod Nova
deployers and
CarboNIX
separation systems as well as end-to end mission management for
all customers manifested on the new Rideshare Plates. In
addition, we also provided Satellogic with deployment hardware,
integration, and deployment services on an additional Rideshare
Plate.
On Transporter-8, we leveraged our expertise from a dozen
missions with SpaceX to execute seamless integrations for our
customers with Falcon 9 and achieve flawless separations of all
12 microsatellites and 20 CubeSats into their target orbit. The
success of Transporter-8 is a defining moment for our flight
heritage, bolstering Exolaunch’s position as a trusted mission
management and integration services provider and one of the
first with flight-proven hardware on Rideshare Plates.
This achievement comes on the heels of a series of
record-breaking missions executed by Exolaunch earlier this
year. In April, we marked a historic industry-first by deploying
the first 16U smallsat in GEO,
shortly after breaking its internal record
for the largest manifest
with the Transporter-6 mission in January.
The pacing of Exolaunch missions continues to accelerate, having
already outstripped the number of missions and satellites
launched in 2022 in half the time. Exolaunch has augmented its
capabilities to match a surge in demand for its products and
services, including moving into brand new facilities in Berlin
and growing its teams in Germany and the US.
FULL MISSION MANIFEST
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SPIRE, LEMUR 2 NAZIYAH,
LEMUR 2 AADAM-ALIYAH,
LEMUR-2 EMBRIONOVIS
LEMUR 2 NAZIYAH, LEMUR 2 AADAM-ALIYAH and
LEMUR-2 EMBRIONOVIS were
deployed using EXOpod and EXOpod Nova deployers for Spire, a
long-standing customer and a leading global provider of
space-based data, analytics and space services delivered by
one of the largest multipurpose satellite constellations in
the world.
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ICEYE, FOUR SATELLITES
Four satellites with a SAR payload were deployed using
CarboNIX microsatellite separation systems for ICEYE, a
long-running and valued customer. ICEYE delivers unmatched
persistent monitoring capabilities for any location on
earth. Owning the world's largest synthetic-aperture radar
constellation, the company enables objective, data-driven
decisions for its customers in sectors such as insurance,
natural catastrophe response and recovery, security,
maritime monitoring, and finance. ICEYE's data can be
collected day or night, and even through cloud cover.
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SATELLOGIC, NEWSAT-40 –
NEWSAT-43
Satellogic's NewSat-40 through
NewSat-43 were deployed using
CarboNIX separation systems following launch aboard Spacex's
Transporter-8 mission.
Satellogic is a leader in sub-meter resolution Earth
Observation (EO) data collection. The company designs,
manufactures, and operates its own constellation of EO
satellites. This mission deployed four additional NewSat
Mark V satellites to the constellation, bringing the total
number of spacecraft to 38 operational satellites.
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SWARM TECHNOLOGIES, SPACEBEES 168 THROUGH 179
SpaceBEE 168 through 179 were deployed using an EXOpod Nova
deployer for Swarm Technologies, a SpaceX company, and a
returning customer. Swarm Technologies manufactures the
world's smallest satellites, which operate in a
constellation spread out like strings of pearls into a
series of distributed sun-synchronous orbital planes. This
configuration allows the satellites to provide reliable
global network coverage.
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UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART, EIVE
EIVE was deployed using an EXOpod Nova deployer for the
University of Stuttgart. EIVE hosts experimental transmitter
and solar cell payloads that it will use to investigate
transmission conditions in orbit and demonstrate the
technology's frequency modulation capabilities. The
University of Stuttgart's Institute of Space Systems is one
of the largest in Europe and offers a wide range of teaching
and research in numerous exciting topics in space technology
and space applications. EIVE was produced in a consortium,
with the Institute responsible for the design, integration,
and testing of the satellite bus, as well as the operation
of the satellite.
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AEROSPACELAB, GRÉGOIRE
Grégoire was deployed using a CarboNIX separation system for
Aerospacelab, a brand-new customer and fellow partner in the
CASSINI Business Accelerator and YEESS. Founded in 2018,
Aerospacelab is a fast-growing company specialized in
designing, manufacturing and operating small satellite
systems. Thanks to its versatile satellite platform,
Aerospacelab provides international stakeholders with an
access to space and geospatial intelligence, offering
proprietary high-resolution satellite data and therefore
facilitating improved decision-making based on information
supported by reliable evidence. With a unique vertically
integrated approach, the company is paving the road to an
optimized and cost-efficient way to space. Headquartered in
Mont-Saint-Guibert (Belgium), Aerospacelab has also offices
in Switzerland and France with an overall headcount of over
200 employees.
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MUON SPACE, MUSAT-1
MuSat-1 was deployed using a
CarboNIX separation system for Muon Space, a new customer.
MuSat-1 is a software-defined satellite optimized for remote
sensing with powerful data bandwidth, flexible interfaces
and a tightly integrated software stack. The satellite is
designed to prove the Muon Space core technology stack that
will serve as the backbone for its Constellation One network
of small satellites. Founded in 2021, Muon Space is
launching a new generation of sensors that monitor Earth's
climate and ecosystems with unprecedented fidelity. From
detecting and tracking wildfires and tsunamis to
understanding global emissions, constellation scale sensing
enables humanity to tackle global challenges.
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TURION SPACE, DROID.001
DROID.001 was deployed using a
CarboNIX separation system for Turion Space, a new start-up
customer. DROID.001 is the first DROID satellite launched to
provide Space Situational Awareness for Turion Space's
customers. Turion Space builds spacecraft to remove
orbital-debris and provide orbit-modification, inspection,
and domain-awareness services to existing space assets.
Turion Space believes the space debris problem must be
solved to ensure a sustainable LEO economy and that it is
the first technological step towards Asteroid resource
extraction.
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AZISTA BST AEROSPACE, AFR-1
AFR-1 was deployed using a
CarboNIX separation system for Azista BST Aerospace, a new
and deeply international customer. AFR-1 is an in-orbit
demonstrator for Azista BST Aerospace's planned mass
production microsatellite platform. Azista BST Aerospace
(ABA) is an Indo-German Joint Venture with the vision of
being the mass manufacturer of small satellites and a
provider for mega-constellations. The Joint Venture enables
the mastery of German heritage and design with Indian
innovations and manufacturing prowess. ABA presently hosts
the largest private satellite manufacturing facility in
Asia.
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SATLANTIS, GEI-SAT
GEI-SAT was deployed using an
EXOpod Nova deployer for Satlantis, a returning customer.
GEI-SAT features a
high-resolution Earth observation payload to perform
atmospheric CH4 measurements with high spatio-temporal
resolution and simultaneous geolocation of source emitters,
to be used for the monitorization and quantification of
methane emissions in the Oil&Gas industry. SATLANTIS designs
and manufactures Earth & Universe Observation payloads for
Small Satellites, core of a unique set of electro-optical
technologies. The company provides user-driven end-to-end
small satellite solutions for diverse applications,
including greenhouse gas detection, defence and
intelligence, land monitoring, and much more.