Update June 22, 2:17 p.m. EDT: SpaceX delayed the launch 24 hours due to poor weather.

SpaceX is preparing for its fourth launch of the year as part of its dedicated smallsat rideshare program, which is set to liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday. SpaceX said it was unable to launch on Sunday due to poor weather.

The mission, dubbed Transporter-14, will send 70 customer payloads into a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East is anticipated at at 2:18 p.m. PDT (5:18, p.m. EDT, 2118 UTC).

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.



In its announcement of this mission on Friday, SpaceX noted that it would be “keeping an eye on weather” as the planned launch approaches.

SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1071, which will fly for a 26th time. It previously launched five missions for the National Reconnaissance Office, three of SpaceX’s rideshare missions and NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft.

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1071 will target a landing on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. If successful, this will be the 138th booster landing for this vessel and the 466th Falcon landing for SpaceX.

Back again

Among the dozens of companies with their logos and spacecraft surrounding the deployment mechanisms on the Falcon 9 rocket is Berlin-based Exolaunch. The company, which helps manifest spacecraft onto these missions for its customers, has been a part of every Transporter mission to date as well as the Bandwagon missions, which head to mid-inclination orbits.

Exoluanch CEO Robert Sproles described SpaceX’s smallsat rideshare program as “industry enabling” and something “that our customers depend on, that we are very proud to support.”

“It gives an opportunity to really pressure test not only our hardware, but all of our systems and missions management to make this a very smooth process for our customers so that they have a really easy time,” Sproles said.

Transporter-14 represents the single, biggest mission for Exolaunch, which is managing 45 of the 70 payloads onboard. Those come from 25 customers from around the word, like Space Forge in the United Kingdom, Gilmour Space in Australia and Unseen Labs in France among others.

“When you have that many payloads on a mission, everything has to work like clockwork. So there’s a tremendous amount of prep work that goes into preparing for the launch campaign,” Sproles said. “Not that anybody does approach these with a laissez-faire attitude, but you cannot approach a Transporter mission without thinking through every activity and how you will accomplish this efficiently on site.”

Sproles said while there are some variations depending on the customer, typically two of the most important marker on the road to a mission are eight and four months away from launch day.

“L-8 months is one very, very big deadline where a lot of deliverables and configurations are due. So ideally, the customer has told us that they want the mission and that they will be ready for the mission by L-8 months,” Sproles said. “That doesn’t mean that’s the absolute latest. We are able to get customers on later than that. There’s usually less flexibility when that happens.”

He said four months from a mission launch it’s “rare” to be able to bring on a new payload for the mission, calling it a “worst case” scenario to try and join a mission.

Exolaunch’s most used product is its EXOpod, which has been a part of 29 missions and deployed 360 CubeSats to date. Other flight-proven deployment mechanisms include the CarboNIX, the EXOport and the Quadro Arrow.

The EXOpod is the simplest way to work with a CubeSat, since those are variations on a uniform spacecraft, just made up of multiple units, which are 10 cm cubed each.

Other more bespoke kinds of satellites that require a different separation system will result in a conversation between Exolaunch and the customer as to what makes the most sense for that satellite and the mission.

“Once, with the customer, we have down selected to the right separation system, we then take that to SpaceX and say, ‘Here is the interface that we would like to fly and here is the volume that we would like to purchase,” Sproles said. “So, we’ll purchase the capacity on volume and each volume comes with a mass allocation in it and then we’ll manage that, along with the customer.”

In May, Exolaunch announced a new, multi-year contract with SpaceX to extend its access to Transporter and other rideshare missions out through 2028. In its statement, Exolaunch said that will allow it access to not only SSO missions, but also mid-inclination, near-polar and dawn-dusk orbits as well.

“It gives our customers confidence and trust that when they put in not just the effort, but the funds to build their satellite, that they will have a reliable ride to orbit,” Sproles said. “Often, launch is one of the most expensive portions of their programs, but also time-to-revenue is what is important to the customer… Having these contracts locked in allows us to say to customers, ‘When you are ready, the launch will be there.’”

While this deal is expressly for future missions on the Falcon family of rockets, Sproles said Exolaunch is also in early talks with SpaceX about being a part of future commercial launches of its Starship rocket.

“Yes, absolutely. That’s a conversation we are engaged with them on,” Sproles said, adding that he couldn’t go into details like projected timelines or specific access to Starship. “Definitely, we’re in those conversations. Excited about them. Really excited to support future, commercial Starship launches.”

Sproles said with 16 launches remaining on their manifest for 2025, including Transporter-15, they have a busy year ahead for a company of roughly 70 people spread across multiple, international offices.

Last up, up top

Images of the fully integrated payload stack for the Transporter-14 mission show one spacecraft literally above all others. On its website, SpaceX refers to this position as the “Cake Topper” and it comes with a dedicated user’s guide, which was most recently updated in December 2024.

“[SpaceX] is pleased to offer a unique solution for small-to-medium-class spacecraft up to 2500 kg that wish to launch in a forward-mounted orientation,” the user’s guide states. “This offering combines the schedule assurances of the Rideshare Program with many of the capabilities of primary, dedicated missions.”

SpaceX states that the Cake Topper has a typical timeline of one to two years from contract to launch.

The Cake Topper for Transporter-14 is the Mission Possible capsule from The Exploration Company (TEC). It will be the last payload deployed, releasing nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes after liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

It’s the second development mission for the Germany-based company, which aims to create a cargo transport vehicle, called Nyx Earth. It also has plans to create a crewed variation of Nyx Earth in the future as well as a lunar variant, called Nyx Moon.

In a post on its LinkedIn page, TEC said the capsule took about three years to develop, manufacture and test for a cost of about €35 million (~$40 million).

TEC said this will be the third controlled reentry vehicle developed in Europe to date, preceded by the Advanced Reentry Demonstrator in 1998 and the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle in 2015, which were both developed by the European Space Agency.

The launch of the Mission Possible capsule comes after its first spacecraft, dubbed Mission Bikini, launched as a payload onboard the inaugural launch of an Ariane 6 rocket in July 2024. However, an upper stage failure prevented that capsule from performing its reentry demonstration.

Mission Possible, weighing in at 1.6 tons with a max diameter of 2.5 meters (8.2 ft), carries with it 25 payloads. It’s designed to perform tests through five “critical phases” of the mission, according to TEC:

In-orbit payload activation

Separation from the launch vehicle

Attitude control

Atmospheric reentry

Splashdown with ocean recovery

TEC said it’s using parachutes from the company Airborne Systems, which were previously used on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. As part of their method to reduce costs on this mission, a drop test using the parachutes was not performed.

It also decided to use commercial off-the-shelf components for the Mission Possible flight computer as well as opt for no redundancy on critical subsystems, like relying on one parachute and only having one onboard computer.

“We are aware this model means more risks of failure, but it allows for lower costs, faster development, and a deeper understanding of the vehicles and their systems over time,” TEC wrote on LinkedIn. “We aim to learn quickly by building fast, flying early and improving with each iteration.”

UPDATE (Sunday, 11:45 a.m.) — SpaceX announced on Sunday morning that the launch of the Transporter-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base would be pushed back to Monday afternoon.

The company cited “unfavorable weather” as the cause for the delay.

The hour-long launch window is set to open at 2:18 p.m. on Monday.

ORIGINAL (Friday, 5:45 p.m.) — SpaceX is targeting Sunday afternoon for the launch of its Transporter-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The launch window for the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to open at 2:18 p.m.

SpaceX officials say the Transporter-14 rideshare mission will carry 70 payloads into low-Earth orbit.

Those payloads reportedly include microsatellites, nanosatellites, re-entry capsules, and orbital transfer vehicles.

Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 is set to land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean.

If needed, SpaceX representatives say a backup launch window is available on Monday at 2:18 p.m.

SpaceX is set to launch the Transporter-14 rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying payloads for a number of smallsat customers. This comes a few days after the company’s Starship rocket, which is in development, exploded on a test stand at Starbase in Texas late Wednesday.

SpaceX said the Starship vehicle was in the process of loading cryogenic propellant for a static fire test on June 18 when it experienced a “major anomaly.” Videos shared online showed a large explosion on the test stand.

In an update, SpaceX said preliminary investigation showed there was a potential failure of a pressurized tank known as a COPV, or composite overwrapped pressure vessel, containing gaseous nitrogen in Starship’s nosecone area. SpaceX said all personnel are safe and there were no reported injuries. SpaceX is investigating the cause of the anomaly.

SpaceX also said in the statement there is “no commonality between the COPVs used on Starship and SpaceX’s Falcon rockets,” used in the company’s launch business.

This was another setback on the Starship program, which has had three flight test failures this year. The Starship rocket, which is in development, has NASA contracts to take astronauts to the Moon, and is part of SpaceX’s plans to reach Mars.

Smallsat Customers for Transporter-14 Mission

The Falcon 9 rideshare mission will be SpaceX’s third Transporter rideshare mission of this year, with previous missions in January and in March and SpaceX also launched a Bandwagon rideshare mission in April. Bandwagon is a separate rideshare mission that deploys to mid-inclination orbit.

Exolaunch will deploy 45 microsatellites and cubesats on the mission including satellites for Unseenlabs, the Hydrosat VanZyl-2 satellite by Muon Space, and Gilmour Space’s first satellite, ElaraSat, with a hyperspectral imagery to monitor water quality.

Exolaunch will also deploy ForgeStar-1 for U.K. startup Space Forge. It will be the company’s first satellite after its first satellite was lost on the failed Virgin Orbit U.K. mission in early 2023.

Spire Global has six satellites on the mission, including payloads for four of its space services customers. This includes direct-to-satellite Bluetooth startup Hubble Network, IoT startup Lacuna Space, South Korean Earth observation provider HANCOM InSpace, and Mission Control.

The mission will include the SATMAR nanosatellite by Spanish company Alén Space for maritime communications.

NanoAvionics built a number of satellites on the mission including an in-orbit air traffic management demonstrator for Startical; SkyBee-2 for Germany’s Constellr; and ARVAKER II & III maritime surveillance satellites for Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

NanoAvionics also built satellites for two universities — a quantum technology test satellite for Germany’s Friedrich Schiller University, and a software testbed satellite for New Zealand’s Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute at the University of Auckland.

Starfish Space is launching its Otter Pup 2, its second mission to attempt to dock with a spacecraft.

York Space Systems is launching Dragoon, the first of a 12-satellite prototype constellation, to demonstrate secure connectivity to warfighter platforms for targeting, missile warning, and tracking of advanced missile threats.

UPDATE: This launch has been rescheduled for Monday, June 23. The 57-min launch window opens at 2:18 p.m.

SpaceX is targeting Sunday, June 22 for a Falcon 9 launch of the Transporter-14 mission to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The 57-minute launch window opens at 2:18 p.m. PT. If needed, there is a backup opportunity on Monday, June 23 at the same time.

This will be the 26th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, NROL-146, Bandwagon-2, NROL-153, NROL-192, and 15 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9 will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

Transporter-14 is a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission. There are 70 payloads on this flight, including cubesats, microsats, re-entry capsules, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying three of those payloads to be deployed at a later time.

Exolaunch is set to deploy 45 customer satellites on the upcoming Transporter-14 rideshare mission with SpaceX aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as soon as this month. This mission highlights Exolaunch’s role as a trusted partner for rideshare launches and represents unparalleled expertise and flight heritage

Flight-proven hardware: CarboNIX, Nova, and Quadro deployment systems

The Transporter-14 mission represents a major milestone for Exolaunch as its largest mission to date, building on the company’s track record of providing reliable and precise access to orbit for customers worldwide. Exolaunch’s teams of experts will manage the deployment of numerous microsatellites, up to 250 kilograms, and CubeSats, up to 16U in size, supporting 25 new and returning customers from the USA, UK, Lithuania, Finland, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Korea, France, Japan, Spain, Norway, Italy, and Greece.

On this mission, Exolaunch will use its flight-proven deployment systems, including:

CarboNIX microsatellite separation rings in 8″, 11″, 15″, and 24″ sizes

EXOpod Nova advanced CubeSat deployers, supporting higher-mass and larger volume satellites with exceptional reliability

Quadro four-point separation systems, offering synchronized release and ultra-low tip-off rates for precision microsatellite deployments

Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova deployers have now supported over 100 delivered units and hundreds of successful CubeSat deployments, reinforcing Nova’s reputation as a trusted next-generation deployer for CubeSat mission.

Exolaunch continues to be the only launch integrator to have manifested satellites on every Transporter mission since the program’s inception in 2020. With Transporter-14, Exolaunch will celebrate its 37th mission overall, having deployed over 530 satellites across 36 previous missions on different global launch vehicles.

As part of the company’s comprehensive service offering, Exolaunch has managed global logistics, satellite integration, deployment, and testing for its customers aboard the Transporter-14 mission—a turnkey solution trusted by the world’s most ambitious space programs.

Transporter-14 marks a historic achievement for Exolaunch and our customers,” said Robert Sproles, Chief Executive Officer at Exolaunch. “Our flight heritage, reliability, and hardware performance continue to set the standard in the rideshare industry. We are grateful to our customers for their trust and to SpaceX for being an outstanding partner as we continue to open space for all.”