SpaceX to deliver 119 payloads to Sun-synchronous orbit on Transporter 16
SpaceX will launch Transporter 16 on March 30, 2026, delivering 119 payloads to a Sun‑synchronous orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The launch window opens at 3:19 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (10:19 a.m. UTC) and the mission is part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program, which offers shared launch services to a broad range of satellite operators.
The Falcon 9 booster B1093 will lift off on a southern trajectory and land on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You positioned in the Pacific. This will be the booster’s twelfth flight after supporting nine Starlink and two Tranche 1 Transport Layer missions. After reaching the targeted Sun‑synchronous orbit, the upper stage will perform four engine burns; payload deployments will commence at T + 55 minutes and conclude at T + 2 hours 31 minutes. The manifest includes picosatellites, nanosatellites and an orbital service vehicle. German launch aggregator Exolaunch supplies the largest share with 57 payloads, hosting 26 microsats and 31 cubesats for more than 25 customers, including the Femto‑1 electric‑propulsion demonstrator, the Phobos AI‑computing microsatellite, the 6U COSMO magnetic‑field observatory, Greece’s Ermis 1‑3 Earth‑observation constellation, the laser‑communication PeakSat, the Arctic climate CubeSat Disco‑2, and the ocean‑color sensor TORO3. SEOPS contributes 19 payloads from 13 nations, featuring five PocketQubes from Alba Orbital, the VegaFly‑1 Earth‑observation satellite, and the FOSSASAT‑2E IoT communications unit. NearSpace Launch provides eight satellites, among them the student‑built Dream Big Constellation. Momentus Inc.’s Vigoride‑7 orbital service vehicle carries ten payloads, including a NASA CubeSat, the R5‑S10 rendezvous‑and‑proximity‑operations demonstrator, a SpaceWERX semi‑autonomous RPO experiment, DARPA’s NOM4D in‑space assembly test, and a metal‑3D‑printed fuel tank.
Transporter missions have placed more than 1,600 small satellites into orbit, reinforcing the rideshare model as a cost‑effective alternative to dedicated launches. By aggregating diverse payloads—from AI‑enabled edge computing and high‑efficiency propulsion to Earth‑observation and in‑space manufacturing demonstrations—Transporter 16 illustrates the growing reliance of commercial, academic and governmental programs on shared launch capacity. The continued success of the SmallSat Rideshare Program supports the expanding small‑satellite market and enables rapid iteration of emerging space technologies without the expense of bespoke launch services.
