Today, November 28, SpaceX successfully launched the 15th Rideshare Transporter mission toward sun-synchronous orbit, delivering a total of 140 customer payloads.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 18:44 UTC (10:44 a.m. PT) from Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Eight minutes after launch, the first stage safely landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean, marking the 30th flight for this booster (B1071).
Liftoff of Transporter-15! pic.twitter.com/LJurU40GNP
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 28, 2025
The Falcon 9 second stage then continued toward the sequential deployment of the various payloads, which will be completed within two and a half hours of liftoff.
This unique service that SpaceX has been offering for almost six years allows a wide range of customers, both governmental and commercial, to deliver their payloads while keeping costs down, thanks to the shared distribution of launch expenses. They can also benefit from various tailored deployment configurations, thanks to orbital transfer vehicles such as D-Orbit’s ION or deployment services like Exolaunch, which today hosted 59 payloads, the highest number in a single mission for the German company.
Advertisement
A series of important European payloads
Aboard today’s SpaceX mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched HydroGNSS, a two-satellite mission, part of the FutureEO programme, that will measure hydrological climate variables.
Thanks to a technique called Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reflectometry, the mission will deliver observations on a series of parameters, including soil moisture, inundation or wetlands, freeze/thaw state, and above-ground biomass. Collected data will be used to assess climate risks. The two satellites will fly at an altitude of 550 km, 189 degrees apart.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd was the prime contractor for the construction of the two spacecraft.
Another European governmental passenger is the new batch of Eagle II satellites for the second IRIDE constellation. The program, coordinated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and ESA, aims to create an Earth-observation constellation to support the Italian Civil Protection Department in monitoring the territory.
The Finnish company ICEYE, a global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite for civil and defence operations, has launched two new X-band high-resolution satellites for the Greek Space Agency.
Advertisement
Other customers
The California-based Varda Space Industries is delivering its fifth capsule (W-5) into orbit following the success of the previous missions. Varda is developing and offering orbital manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical sector and beyond. The company secured a five-year multi-mission FAA license authorizing unlimited reentries of W-series vehicles, most likely in Australia.
Planets Labs launched 36 SuperDove 3U satellites. The US Earth-imaging company, founded in 2010, currently operates over 200 satellites in orbit.
The Taiwanese Space Agency (TSA) is launching three cubesats developed by commercial partners and Formosat-8A, one of the eight planned satellites for the national Earth-observation Formosat constellation.
*Cover image credits: SpaceX
Advertisement
