This article originally appeared on Via Satellite on December 22, 2024.
SpaceX launched 30 payloads to mid-inclination orbit on Saturday in the Bandwagon-2 rideshare mission. The Falcon 9 mission lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 3:34 a.m. PT.
This was the second Bandwagon mission, which launches to mid-inclination orbit while the regular Transporter rideshare missions launch to a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
The mission launched payloads for KOREA ADD, Arrow Science and Technology, Maverick Space Systems, Tomorrow Companies Inc., and Think Orbital.
Rideshare integrator Exolaunch deployed 22 customer satellites on the mission using its CarboNIX separation rings and EXOpod Nova deployers. This included two satellites for Iceye; three satellites for HawkEye 360 built by Space Flight Laboratory; True Anomaly; EnduroSat; Sidus Space; and other customers.
SpaceX was set to follow up the Bandwagon mission with a dedicated mission for Astranis, but scrubbed a launch attempt on Saturday with last-second engine abort. SpaceX has not set a new launch date for Astranis yet.
For True Anomaly, the mission launched the second iteration of its Jackal autonomous orbital vehicle (AOV), MX-2. This flight is focused on characterizing and expanding Jackal’s maneuverability, object characterization, and tracking performance envelope. True Anomaly confirmed post-launch that the spacecraft’s solar arrays deployed and it is in contact with the spacecraft via the Mosaic software platform.
Bandwagon-2 launched the fifth and sixth satellites for weather technology company Tomorrow.io. These satellites will capture atmospheric data like temperature, humidity, precipitation, and tropical cyclone insights that Tomorrow.io combines with AI/ML modeling to improve forecasts for businesses and governments.
Sidus Space launched LizzieSat-2, the company’s second satellite. LizzieSat-2 has proprietary Sidus sensors onboard alongside customer payloads like the HEO Holmes Imager. The satellite’s sensor suite including AIS, methane detection, and advanced visual spectrum sensors, along with the company’s FeatherEdge AI processor.
The Bandwagon-2 mission launched Croatia’s first satellite into space, CroCube. Smallsat manufacturer Spacemanic, which is headquartered in the Czech Republic, built CroCube, along with Czech scientific microsatellite LASARsat.
