{"id":17385,"date":"2022-05-25T22:43:10","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T14:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-launches-59-payloads-including-spaceflights-latest-breed-of-orbital-tug\/"},"modified":"2022-05-25T22:43:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T14:43:10","slug":"spacex-launches-59-payloads-including-spaceflights-latest-breed-of-orbital-tug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-launches-59-payloads-including-spaceflights-latest-breed-of-orbital-tug\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX launches 59 payloads, including Spaceflight\u2019s latest breed of orbital tug"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new type of controllable orbital transfer vehicle built by Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. made its debut today when SpaceX sent dozens of satellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s Transporter-5 mission, which is part of the company\u2019s rideshare program, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:35 p.m. ET (11:35 a.m. PT):to send 59 small spacecraft to space. Minutes after stage separation, the Falcon 9\u2019s reusable first-stage booster made a rare land-based touchdown at SpaceX\u2019s Landing Zone 1, not far from the launch site.<\/p>\n

The piggyback spacecraft were to be deployed from the rocket\u2019s upper stage into low Earth orbit, or LEO, over the course of a little more than an hour.<\/p>\n

One of those spacecraft is Spaceflight\u2019s Sherpa-AC1, the latest in the company\u2019s line of Sherpa orbital transfer vehicles, also known as space tugs.<\/p>\n

Sherpa tugs are designed to go out from their launch vehicles and deliver an assortment of small satellites to different orbits. The tugs can also carry hosted payloads, which do their thing while remaining attached to the tug.<\/p>\n

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Spaceflight Inc.\u2019s Sherpa-AC tug is equipped with a command and control system. (Spaceflight Inc. Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sherpa-AC adds capabilities for attitude control (hence the \u201cAC\u201d) and tracking. An onboard flight computer keeps track of the tug\u2019s location in space, and a command and control system can keep the spacecraft pointed in the right direction. There\u2019s also a two-way communication system, an electrical power system and a basic thermal control system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to deploying multiple satellites, Sherpa-AC is well-suited for accommodating hosted payloads in LEO for up to a year,\u201d Jodi Sorensen, Spaceflight\u2019s vice president of marketing, said in a blog post. This first Sherpa-AC carried three nanosatellites for the Missile Defense Agency and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, plus hosted payloads for Xona Space and NearSpace Launch. <\/p>\n

Two other companies had their space tugs put into orbit. Transporter-5 marked the first mission for Momentus Space\u2019s Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle, which uses a water-based propulsion system D-Orbit\u2019s ION SCV-006 tug was sent into space as well.<\/p>\n

Other notable payloads included NASA\u2019s TBIRD experiment, which aims to test laser communications in space; Nanoracks\u2019 Outpost Mars Demo-1 experiment, which is designed to demonstrate a metal-cutting technique for in-space construction; and a Celestis nanosatellite that contained cremated remains from more than 40 people.<\/p>\n

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