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SpaceX Launching 11 Satellites on Bandwagon-1 Rideshare Mission
SpaceX is preparing for the launch of 11 satellites on a rideshare mission from Florida on the evening of April 7. The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to take off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 7:16 p.m. EDT (2316 GMT), marking the beginning of the 11-satellite Bandwagon-1 mission.
According to SpaceX, the mission will include spacecraft such as KOREA’s 425Sat, HawkEye 360’s Clusters 8 & 9, Tyvak International’s CENTAURI-6, iQPS’s QPS-SAR-7 TSUKUYOMI-II, Capella Space’s Capella-14, and Tata Advanced Systems Limited’s TSAT-1A. The launch will be live-streamed on SpaceX’s X account, starting approximately 10 minutes before liftoff.
If all goes as planned, the Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth for a vertical landing about 7.5 minutes after liftoff. The touchdown is expected to take place at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, adjacent to KSC. This mission will mark the 14th launch and landing for this particular booster.
SpaceX’s Rideshare Launch History
While the Bandwagon-1 mission will be the inaugural flight in SpaceX’s Bandwagon program, the company has significant experience with rideshare launches. SpaceX has previously conducted 10 rideshare missions through its Transporter program, with the most recent mission launching last month. The first Transporter mission in January 2021 set a record by delivering 143 satellites to orbit in a single flight, a milestone that remains unmatched to this day.
Stay up to date with breaking space news, including the latest updates on rocket launches and skywatching events, by following SpaceX’s upcoming Bandwagon-1 mission closely.
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