SpaceX powers Bandwagon-3 to orbit. Watch the highlights
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Trevor Mogg Published April 21, 2025 |
SpaceX successfully launched the Bandwagon-3 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday night.
Lifting off on time at 8:48 p.m. ET, the rocket carried with it ADD’s 425Sat-3, Tomorrow Companies Inc.’s Tomorrow-S7, and Atmos Space Cargo’s Phoenix reentry capsule.
SpaceX livestreamed the early part of the dedicated rideshare mission. Here’s the Falcon 9 lighting up the night sky as it blasts off from the launchpad:
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/uU6coB7Lj3
The Bandwagon-3 mission marked the third flight of the first-stage booster, which previously launched O3b mPOWER-E and Crew-10 to orbit. Following stage separation, the first stage returned intact to Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral, notching up the 435th landing of a SpaceX orbital class rocket:
As part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program, Bandwagon-3 enabled multiple small satellite operators to share a single launch, significantly reducing the cost of access to space.
Payloads for SpaceX’s rideshare missions can be as small as 110 pounds (50 kg), with launch costs starting at $300,000, making it a more affordable option for small satellite deployments.
The Bandwagon-3 payloads included the 425Sat-3 reconnaissance satellite for the Korean Agency for Defense and Development; Tomorrow Companies Inc.’s Tomorrow-S7, which is believed to be for weather-related data missions; and Atmos Space Cargo’s Phoenix reentry capsule, a German-developed capsule designed to test in-orbit systems and demonstrate an inflatable heat shield for atmospheric reentry. Once deployed, the capsule will carry out a number of tests before reentering and splashing down in the Atlantic off the coast of Brazil. If successful, it will become the first privately operated European effort to perform a reentry from orbit.
Bandwagon-3 highlights SpaceX’s commitment to broadening access to orbit for small satellite operators, offering regular, scheduled launches at a fraction of traditional costs. The Elon Musk-led company conducted its first dedicated rideshare mission, Transporter-1, in 2021. The launch carried 143 commercial and government satellites to orbit, marking the official start of its rideshare program.
SpaceX has now completed a total of 16 dedicated rideshare missions: 13 Transporter missions to polar orbit and 3 Bandwagon missions to mid-inclination orbits.
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