Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission
Falcon 9 Block 5
SpaceX
Trajectory
Detailed trajectory information from FlightClub.io is currently unavailable. This page will be updated with trajectory details as soon as they are released. Please check back for updates.
Mission
Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission
- Type: Astrophysics
- Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
- Launch Cost: $52,000,000
The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope that will improve our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres by disentangling exoplanet signals from their host stars, as well as studying host star variability with long-duration observations of 20 unique planets through visible-light photometry and near-infrared spectroscopy.
Also launching on this launch are ride-share payloads under the "Falcon 9 Twilight mission", including satellites from Spire Global and Kepler Communications.
Location
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Find the best place to watch the launch from Vandenberg
Space Launch Complex 4E has witnessed the launch of 237 rockets, including 237 orbital launch attempts. While Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, has been the site for 851 rocket launches.
Vandenberg Space Force Base is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base, equivalent to an Air Force air base wing. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.
Rocket
SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
Landing
The booster serial number is unknown at this time. Check back for more details about the booster.
Agency
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
