24 January 2021: SpaceX Transporter-1 Launches a Record 143 Spacecraft, Inaugurating the Dedicated SSO SmallSat Rideshare Program
On 24 January 2021, Falcon 9 Transporter-1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying 143 satellites, establishing quarterly SSO rideshare access for SmallSats.
Prior to 2021, university and commercial CubeSat/PocketQube teams relied on opportunistic piggyback capacity aboard primary Earth-observation launches (such as Dnepr, PSLV, Rockot, Soyuz, or Atlas V), often waiting years for a primary payload schedule.
On 24 January 2021, SpaceX launched Transporter-1 from Cape Canaveral SLC-40, deploying 143 spacecraft into a 525 km Sun-synchronous orbit on a single Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and establishing a standardized $1M / 200 kg ($5,000/kg) rideshare tariff.
In parallel, dedicated small-launch vehicles sought to offer direct picosatellite injection: Firefly Aerospace’s maiden Alpha flight (FLTA001 on 3 September 2021, carrying Libre Space Foundation’s 1P QUBIK-1/2 and FossaSat-1B/2) suffered a first-stage engine shutdown and loss of mission, before Alpha FLTA002 on 1 October 2022 deployed the follow-on 1P QUBIK-3/4 and GENESIS-G/J into a low 220×275 km orbit.
CELESTRAK SATCAT & TELEMETRY RECORD
Verified Spacecraft Key Facts & Orbital Dossier
| Spacecraft | Class | Operator / Country | Launch & Vehicle | NORAD / COSPAR | Orbit & RF Downlink | Catalog Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Qubik-1 | 1P | Libre Space Foundation GR | Alpha (FLTA001) | Unassigned | Launch / deploy loss | |
Qubik-2 | 1P | Libre Space Foundation GR | Alpha (FLTA001) | Unassigned | Launch / deploy loss | |
Qubik-3 | 1P | Libre Space Foundation GR | Alpha (FLTA002) · PicoBus | Unassigned | Decayed | |
Qubik-4 | 1P | Libre Space Foundation GR | Alpha (FLTA002) · PicoBus | Unassigned | Decayed |