SpaceX

Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission

Falcon 9 Block 5

SUCCESS
Success

Sunday, January 11, 2026 · 13:44 UTC

Mission

/01

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.

Mission Type

Astrophysics

Orbit

Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)

Probability

N/A

Status

Launch Successful

Vehicle & Pad

/02

Rocket

Falcon 9 Block 5

Variant: Block 5

Launch Pad

Space Launch Complex 4E

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

34.632° N, 120.611° W

240

Pad Launches

854

Location Launches

623

Agency Launches

4

Orbital This Year

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