Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket with 105 satellites

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SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Cape Canaveral with 105 satellites ranging from the size of a soda can to a washing machine.

Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 10:25:39 a.m. EST (1525:39 GMT), and the Falcon 9’s first stage booster returned to Florida’s Space Coast for a propulsive landing about eight-and-a-half minutes later.

You can watch our live launch coverage on this page.

This was SpaceX’s second launch of the year, and the second of seven space missions scheduled for liftoff from the Space Coast this month. It was the third dedicated launch for SpaceX’s small satellite rideshare service, which aims to give microsatellites and CubeSats are more affordable ride into orbit.

The Transporter 3 mission flew southeast from Cape Canaveral, then turned south to track parallel to Florida’s east coast to deliver the Falcon 9 rocket’s 105 satellite passengers into a roughly 326-mile-high (525-kilometer) polar sun-synchronous orbit.

Read our mission preview story for details.

ROCKET:  Falcon 9 (B1058.10)

PAYLOAD: 105 microsatellites, CubeSats, PocketQubes, and orbital transfer vehicles

LAUNCH SITE: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 13, 2022

LAUNCH TIME: 10:25:39 a.m. EST (1525:39 GMT)

LAUNCH WINDOW: 29 minutes

WEATHER FORECAST: 70% probability of acceptable weather

BOOSTER RECOVERY: Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

LAUNCH AZIMUTH: South-southeast, then south

TARGET ORBIT: Approximately 326 miles (525 kilometers), 97.5 degrees inclination

LAUNCH TIMELINE:

• T+00:00: Liftoff
• T+01:12: Maximum aerodynamic pressure (Max-Q)
• T+02:15: First stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
• T+02:19: Stage separation
• T+02:26: Second stage engine ignition
• T+02:32: Boost-back burn begins
• T+03:47: Fairing jettison
• T+06:36: First stage entry burn ignition (three engines)
• T+08:26: Second stage engine cutoff (SECO 1)
• T+08:27: First stage landing
• T+55:22: Second stage engine restart
• T+55:24; Second stage engine cutoff (SECO 2)
• T+59:38: Unicorn 2E separation
• T+59:51: Delfi-PQ, EASAT 2, and HADES separation
• T+1:00:25: Unicorn 2D, SATLLA 2A, Grizu-263A separation
• T+1:02:10: Unicorn 1 and Unicorn 2D separation
• T+1:02:49: PION-BR1, MDQubeSat 1, SATLLA 2B, Unicorn 2TA1 separation
• T+1:02:55: ETV-A1 separation
• T+1:03:04: HYPSO 1 separation
• T+1:03:16: Gossamer Piccolomini separation
• T+1:03:28: DEWASat 1 separation
• T+1:03:47: NuX 1 separation
• T+1:04:15: BRO 5 separation
• T+1:05:36: Challenger and SanoSat 1 separation
• T+1:05:48: FossaSat 2E5 and FossaSat 2E6 separation
• T+1:06:01: FossaSat 2E2 and FossaSat 2E3 separation
• T+1:06:27: FossaSat 2E1 and FossaSat 2E4 separation
• T+1:06:32: First SuperDove separation
• T+1:06:51: First Lemur 2 separation
• T+1:07:13: Kepler 17 separation
• T+1:07:19: Second Lemur 2 separation
• T+1:07:31: Ororatech separation
• T+1:08:09: Tevel 4 and Tevel 5 separation
• T+1:08:35: Tevel 1, Tevel 2, Tevel 3 separation
• T+1:10:27: Kepler 19 separation
• T+1:11:01: MDASat 1a separation
• T+1:11:13: IRIS A separation
• T+1:11:25: Kepler 18 separation
• T+1:11:39: Kepler 16 separation
• T+1:12:03: Lemur 2 Djirang separation
• T+1:12:28: Lemur 2 Miriwari separation
• T+1:12:44: MDASat 1b separation
• T+1:12:58: MDASat 1c separation
• T+1:13:27: Tevel 6, Tevel 7, Tevel 8 separation
• T+1:21:07: Last SuperDove separation
• T+1:21:30: First ICEYE separation
• T+1:22:08: Second ICEYE separation
• T+1:22:20: Umbra 2 separation
• T+1:23:02: Sich 2-1 separation
• T+1:23:31: First Capella separation
• T+1:24:30: ION SCV 004 transfer vehicle separation
• T+1:27:04: Second Capella separation

MISSION STATS:

• 136th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010
• 144th launch of Falcon rocket family since 2006
• 10th launch of Falcon 9 booster B1058
• 120th Falcon 9 launch from Florida’s Space Coast
• 78th Falcon 9 launch from pad 40
• 133rd launch overall from pad 40
• 80th flight of a reused Falcon 9 booster
• 3rd Transporter rideshare mission launched by SpaceX
• 2nd Falcon 9 launch of 2022
• 2nd launch by SpaceX in 2022
• 2nd orbital launch based out of Cape Canaveral in 2022

If you would like to see more articles like this please support our coverage of the space program by becoming a Spaceflight Now Member. If everyone who enjoys our website helps fund it, we can expand and improve our coverage further.