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SpaceX Achieves Milestone with 30-Satellite Launch from California Base

Monday 23 December 2024 - 09:45

SpaceX marked another successful mission in its space operations portfolio with the deployment of 30 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch, part of the Bandwagon-2 mission, took place on Saturday at 6:34 a.m. EDT using the company's signature Falcon 9 rocket.

In a testament to SpaceX's advancing reusability program, the Falcon 9's first stage executed a precise vertical landing at the Vandenberg recovery zone approximately eight minutes after liftoff. This particular booster achieved its 21st flight, approaching SpaceX's current reuse benchmark of 24 flights.

The mission carried a diverse array of payloads for multiple clients, including South Korea's Agency for Defense Development and several commercial entities. Among the participating companies were Arrow Science and Technology, Exolaunch, HawkEye 360, Maverick Space Systems, Sidus Space, Tomorrow Companies Inc., True Anomaly, and Think Orbital.

This launch builds upon the success of the earlier Bandwagon-1 mission from April, which deployed 11 satellites. It also complements SpaceX's established Transporter rideshare program, which has completed 11 missions to date. The Transporter series notably includes the January 2021 Transporter-1 mission, which set a record by launching 143 satellites in a single flight.

The Bandwagon-2 mission represents another step forward in SpaceX's commercial space operations, highlighting the company's growing capability in delivering multiple satellites to low Earth orbit while advancing sustainable space technology through rocket reusability.

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