Falcon 9 Block 5 | Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission
Launch Successful
L - -- : -- : -- : --
Launch Window
Jan. 11, 2026, 1:19 p.m. - Jan. 11, 2026, 2:16 p.m.
Jan. 11, 2026, 1:19 p.m. - Jan. 11, 2026, 2:16 p.m.
Watch live coverage as SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket from California carrying a multitude of payloads to a dusk-dawn sun-synchronous orbit. Liftoff of the Twilight rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 5:44 a.m. PST (8:44 a.m. EST / 1344 …
The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope that will improve our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres by disentangling exoplanet signals from their host stars, as well as studying host star variability with long-duration observations of 20 unique planets through visible-light photometry and near-infrared spectroscopy. Also launching on this launch are 39 other ride-share payloads under the "Falcon 9 Twilight mission" manifested by Exolaunch, including satellites from Spire Global and Kepler Communications.
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All payloads deployed, launch successful.
Liftoff
Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
Tweaked T-0.
Now targeting Jan 11 at 13:44 UTC
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
See DetailsThe Falcon 9 first stage B1097 has landed on Landing Zone 4 after its 5th flight.
Result: Successful Return to Launch Site landing at Landing Zone 4.Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
INFO WIKI
In this photo from early January 2026, teams prepare to encapsulate NASA’s Pandora small satellite, NASA-sponsored Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and the Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT) CubeSat, inside a Spa…
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 13, 2026 NASA mission controllers have acquired full signal from the agency's Pandora small satellite, confirming the health and initial operations of the exoplanet observatory following launch from Vandenberg…
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a trio of NASA astrophysics small satellites along with dozens of commercial spacecraft on a rideshare mission Jan. 11. The post NASA astrophysics, commercial satellites launch on SpaceX rideshare mission appear…
A new NASA spacecraft called Pandora is awaiting launch ahead of its journey to study the atmospheres of exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, and their stars. Along for the ride are two shoebox-sized satellites called BlackCAT (B…
Fresh off a record-shattering launch cadence in 2025, SpaceX is planning to fly its first… The post SpaceX’s Twilight rideshare mission set to fly from Vandenberg appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
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The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope …
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