Transporter-13: SpaceX Launches 74 Satellites To Orbit In Rideshare Mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 74 satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E), Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 15, at 0643 UTC, on a rideshare Transporter-13 mission.

The rocket's first stage returned as expected, to Earth 7.5 minutes after liftoff, marking the 400th successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage overall. The booster (B1081), has now completed its 13th successful flight and landing, having last launched on December 5, 2024.

The 74 payloads include cubesats, microsats, hosted payloads, a reentry capsule, and an orbital transfer vehicle carrying 11 additional payloads to be deployed at a later time. The reentry capsule, known as the W-3 vehicle from Varda Space Industries, is designed for orbital mini-factories.

Transporter-13 is the 13th mission in SpaceX's Transporter series, which focuses on dedicated rideshare flights to various orbits for SpaceX customers.

SpaceX also runs another rideshare program called Bandwagon, which has completed two missions to date. The company has launched more than 1,200 payloads for about 130 customers across both programs.

In another milestone announced Saturday, by the company, Falcon 9 rockets completed "three missions in ~13 hours, launching four astronauts to the @space_station, 74 rideshare payloads to orbit, and adding 23 @Starlink satellites to the constellation."

SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base from which Saturday morning's launch took place, has seen 182 rocket launches, including 182 orbital launch attempts.