On its 7th Transporter mission with SpaceX, Exolaunch is conducting a launch campaign for more than 15 satellites for a number of companies, including Spire Global, NanoAvionics, Unseenlabs, GomSpace, EnduroSat and Plan-S.
Exolaunch also welcomes new customers (they account for 50% of the launch manifest): Space Flight Laboratory on behalf of the Norwegian Space Agency, TÜBİTAK UZAY, Kenya Space Agency with SayariLabs and EnduroSat, ISILAUNCH on behalf of Orbital Solutions Monaco (OSM) and Laboratoire Athmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Stanford Student Space Initiative, Bronco Space, the Colombian Air Force and two, additional undisclosed customers
The company’s EXOpod Nova enhanced CubeSat separation system and the newly designed, multi-satellite adapter EXOport ‘Europa’ will fly on Transporter-7
Exolaunch will cross the milestone of having launched more than 285 satellites for global customers. First flown on Transporter-5 and Transporter-6, Nova enhances the EXOpod design with superior specifications. Nova increases the allowable satellite mass by up to 30% and the available side panel volume by a factor of 4 when compared to traditional, CubeSat deployment systems. It also enables CubeSat manufacturers to keep launch costs low while building larger, heavier and more capable satellites. Nova brings the EXOpod family’s deployment record to 186 satellites as of March of 2023.
The extensive integration campaign for Transporter-7 has already been completed for all satellites flying with Exolaunch. After a successful CubeSat integration at the company’s new facilities in Berlin, the Exolaunch team finalized the integration of the remaining smallsats with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle at the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
This is the seventh Transporter mission in a series of rideshare launches, which Exolaunch is manifesting on Falcon 9 under a Multi-Launch Agreement (MLA) with SpaceX that was first signed in 2020 and later extended to include new missions. For each Falcon 9 procured through the MLA, Exolaunch provides a turnkey solution encompassing industry-leading mission management & satellite integration services in addition to its flight-proven separation systems.
Exolaunch has manifested on every Transporter mission since the program’s inception, deploying more than 150 smallsats and CubeSats through the dedicated rideshare program. Transporter-7 is the latest addition to Exolaunch’s streak of ever-more diverse manifests, strengthening its position as a trusted and reliable launch & deployment service provider.
“As always, we are entirely focused on delivering a smooth launch experience for each and every customer. This time around, we were delighted with the opportunity to welcome both well-known and new faces in our brand-new integration facilities in Germany. The entire team is particularly proud of our work with SpaceX on the Transporter program and being able to offer access to space that is unrivaled in its regularity and cost-effectiveness.”
Jeanne Allarie, VP Launch at Exolaunch
“The integration proceeded flawlessly for all customer satellites. Our team works hand in hand with our customers throughout stringent validation and testing processes, so it’s a great experience to take the final step together. It speaks volumes to the advantages of the Nova deployer that it was chosen to fly all the CubeSats manifested by our new customers. On the other hand, SpaceX has been a marvelous launch provider and an inestimable force to revolutionize access to space.”
Michael Tolstoj, Mission Director at Exolaunch
This year promises to be Exolaunch’s busiest yet: With customers manifested aboard multiple launch vehicles and every SpaceX Transporter mission in 2023, the German launch service provider is poised to achieve the significant milestone of the 300th satellite launched into orbit.