On May 25 at 18:35 UTC, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Onboard were 59 spacecraft in the Transporter-5 mission, the latest in SpaceX’s dedicated smallsat rideshare missions.

After the first stage separation, the stage performed a boost back maneuver and landed at Landing Zone 1, also at Cape Canaveral. Not every mission allows a first stage boost back, particularly during the daytime, so this event was a rare sight. The booster, 1061, was on its eighth flight.

We don’t have nearly enough time to talk about all of the payloads on this flight, but there was one that caught my attention.

Spaceflight, Inc. has a new version of their Sherpa vehicle called the Sherpa-AC. This version improves on the existing spacecraft by adding attitude control and solar panels, allowing the spacecraft to stay operational with hosted payloads for up to 8 years until it decays from orbit due to atmospheric drag. The Sherpa AC does not have propulsion; however, it can also tell the hosted payloads their orientation and point them in the desired directions, something the previous version of the Sherpa was not capable of.

Another new thing is the ability for “two-way RF communication”, permitting ground control to send new commands in addition to receiving data from the payloads. The Sherpa AC on this flight has five payloads; three of them will be deployed.

More Information

Transporter-5 mission page (SpaceX)

Spaceflight, Inc. press release

Who’s Onboard Transporter 5? (Spaceflight, Inc.)

Launch video