An eclectic set of satellites packed inside the Falcon 9 rocket that launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base early Monday included a trio involved in a competition to map Earth’s magnetic fields.
The two-stage rocket built by SpaceX blasted off shortly after 4 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-4, with the first-stage booster landing minutes later on the droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
The rocket carried 119 payloads for a dedicated rideshare mission dubbed Transporter-16, and SpaceX confirmed the deployment sequence successfully occurred over more than two hours following liftoff.
Three of the payloads were part of the competition sponsored by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also have been involved in the effort.
The small satellites were developed through MagQuest, a six-year, multimillion-dollar global competition that has sought to significantly advance how Earth’s magnetic field gets measured.
The data will update the World Magnetic Model, a key tool for navigation used for military operations, commercial aviation and everyday mobile devices worldwide.
“We are on the verge of proving that small, affordable satellites can deliver the high-quality magnetic data our nation depends on,” said Mike Paniccia, NGA’s program manager for the World Magnetic Model. “These teams have spent the past few years pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with CubeSat technology, and this launch is the moment where all of that ingenuity meets the ultimate test.”
Currently, the World Magnetic Model uses data from a European satellite launched in 2013, but MagQuest aims to prove the CubeSat costing much less could deliver the information.
The finalists took different approaches to create their entries. An expert review panel in the future will assess the results based on several key milestones and declare whether any of the designs met the objectives.
The finalists were Compact Spaceborne Magnetic Observatory, (COSMO) CubeSat from the University of Colorado, Boulder; the Diamond-Powered Geomagnetic Data Collection from LEO, Spire Global and SBQuantum; and Io-1 from Iota Technology.
“Rideshare significantly increases access to space for small satellite operators around the world,” SpaceX said. “The spacecraft on this mission range from technologies for in-space manufacturing, Earth observation satellites, autonomous navigation systems, a re-entry vehicle and more.”
The Transporter-16 mission also provided a path to orbit for Cal Poly students who watched their student-built SAL-E craft, the San Luis Obispo-based university’s 13th CubeSat.
About the size of a shoebox, SAL-E contained two small payloads. One, Computer Architecture Research Project, or CARP, is a silicon computer chip designed by Cal Poly students using open-source silicon and custom firmware that will be monitored for how it responds to radiation and other environmental stressors in low Earth orbit.
The other, dubbed Space Quacker Advanced Development, or SQUAD, will test a long-range radio device in the harsh environment of space, collecting performance data while in orbit.
After SAL-E arrived in orbit Monday, students at the Poly Sat lab communicated with the satellites and monitored the craft’s health.
The craft’s name honors late physicist and astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
Another payload has a decidedly different name — Elephant Juice, a moniker in which the mouth mimics the same movements as saying, “I love you.”
Inspired by the 1977 Voyager mission, the new craft was designed to put DNA-encoded messages of love in space.
Assorted other payloads aboard the Transporter-16 mission came from multiple locations around the world, including Finland, Italy and more.
SpaceX said its rideshare missions have delivered more than 1,600 payloads.
The next SpaceX launch from Vandenberg will carry Starlink satellites into orbit as soon as Thursday between 4:03 p.m. and 8:03 p.m.