2026 Dedicated Rideshare Audit: Transporter-17 (CO-128), Transporter-18’s PICOBUS v2 PocketQube Cluster (AO-129, AO-130, SIDLOC-PQ & NIS-PQ), and Bandwagon-5
nadir lab. catalog audit of the July–October 2026 Falcon 9 dedicated rideshare sequence—Transporter-17 (81 payloads), Transporter-18 (130 payloads), and Bandwagon-5—examining OTV-hosted PocketQube deployment via UARX OSSIE-D / PICOBUS v2 and multi-object SATCAT identification.
Between July and October 2026, SpaceX executed three dedicated small-satellite rideshare flights across two inclination regimes: Transporter-17 from Vandenberg on 7 July 2026 (81 payloads into Sun-synchronous orbit), Transporter-18 from Vandenberg on 1 October 2026 (130 payloads into SSO), and Bandwagon-5 from Cape Canaveral on 20 October 2026 (mid-inclination ~45° LEO). Together with March’s Transporter-16, the 2026 cadence demonstrates both the high throughput of standardized ESPA/dispenser rings and the persistent post-deployment TLE association challenge on 100+ object manifests.
On Transporter-17, the University of Victoria’s Center for Aerospace Research (CfAR) deployed MARMOTSat—a 3U student CubeSat developed within the Canadian Space Agency’s CUBICS programme—carrying an amateur 145.875 / 436.125 MHz VHF/UHF packet payload and an HF ionospheric receiver; following orbital commissioning, AMSAT designated the spacecraft Canada-OSCAR 128 (CO-128).
On Transporter-18 (1 October 2026), UARX Space’s OSSIE-D orbital transfer vehicle hosted Libre Space Foundation’s open-source PICOBUS v2 deployer, releasing eight 1P PocketQubes newly indexed in the nadir lab. census: AMSAT-DL’s 0.12 kg open-hardware trio ERMINAZ-2U (designated AMSAT-OSCAR 129 / AO-129 on 70 cm UHF), ERMINAZ-2V (AMSAT-OSCAR 130 / AO-130 on 2 m VHF), and ERMINAZ-2X; Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and Libre Space’s NIS-PQ (Qubik-5), marking Kazakhstan’s first PocketQube; and Libre Space’s four-unit SIDLOC-PQ-03..06 cluster (401.5 MHz spread-spectrum UHF beacons specifically engineered to solve dense rideshare object correlation).
Published Proceedings, Open-Access Papers & Primary Dossiers
CELESTRAK SATCAT & TELEMETRY RECORD
Verified Spacecraft Key Facts & Orbital Dossier
| Spacecraft | Class | Operator / Country | Launch & Vehicle | NORAD / COSPAR | Orbit & RF Downlink | Catalog Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ERMINAZ-2U (AO-129) | 1P | AMSAT-DL DE | Falcon 9 (Transporter-18) · UARX OSSIE-D / Libre Space PICOBUS v2 | Unassigned 2026-227CL | UHF | Active |
ERMINAZ-2V (AO-130) | 1P | AMSAT-DL DE | Falcon 9 (Transporter-18) · UARX OSSIE-D / Libre Space PICOBUS v2 | Unassigned | VHF | Active |
ERMINAZ-2X | 1P | AMSAT-DL DE | Falcon 9 (Transporter-18) · UARX OSSIE-D / Libre Space PICOBUS v2 | Unassigned | VHF | Unverified |
NIS-PQ (Qubik-5) | 1P | Libre Space Foundation & Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools KZ | Falcon 9 (Transporter-18) · UARX OSSIE-D / Libre Space PICOBUS v2 | Unassigned | UHF | Unverified |
SIDLOC-PQ-03 | 1P | Libre Space Foundation GR | Falcon 9 (Transporter-18) · UARX OSSIE-D / Libre Space PICOBUS v2 | Unassigned 2026-227CE | 401.5 MHz (UHF) | Unverified |
MARMOTSat (CO-128) | 3U | University of Victoria (CfAR) / CSA CUBICS CA | Falcon 9 (Transporter-17) · Exolaunch EXOpod Nova | Unassigned | 145.875 MHz, 436.125 MHz (VHF/UHF) | Active |
Catalogued Mission Summaries & Flight Notes
- ERMINAZ-2U (AO-129) (1P, 2026):
- German 1P amateur radio PocketQube (0.12 kg) built by AMSAT-DL on the Libre Space Qubik bus, deployed from UARX Space’s OSSIE-D transfer vehicle via PICOBUS v2 on Transporter-18 and designated AMSAT-OSCAR 129 (AO-129) for 70 cm FSK/LoRa digipeater operations.
- ERMINAZ-2V (AO-130) (1P, 2026):
- VHF 2-meter companion 1P PocketQube (0.12 kg) built by AMSAT-DL, co-deployed via UARX OSSIE-D and PICOBUS v2 on SpaceX Transporter-18 and designated AMSAT-OSCAR 130 (AO-130).
- ERMINAZ-2X (1P, 2026):
- Third 1P PocketQube (0.12 kg) of AMSAT-DL’s second-generation open-source ERMINAZ trio launched on SpaceX Transporter-18 to evaluate experimental attitude determination and VHF telemetry modes. Co-deployed with AO-129 and AO-130 via UARX OSSIE-D / PICOBUS v2 on Transporter-18; independent OSCAR designation and post-deployment telemetry state pending confirmation.
- NIS-PQ (Qubik-5) (1P, 2026):
- Kazakhstan’s first PocketQube (1P), co-developed by Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools students and Libre Space Foundation on the open-source Qubik-5 bus and deployed via PICOBUS v2 on SpaceX Transporter-18. Deployed from UARX OSSIE-D via PICOBUS v2 on Transporter-18; specific NORAD object correlation and continuous UHF telemetry status pending verification.
- SIDLOC-PQ-03 (1P, 2026):
- Greek 1P PocketQube (0.125 kg) built by Libre Space Foundation to flight-qualify the open-source Spacecraft Identification and Localization (SIDLOC) spread-spectrum UHF beacon protocol on Transporter-18. Deployed via UARX OSSIE-D / PICOBUS v2 on Transporter-18 (COSPAR 2026-227CE); individual beacon operational status pending verification.
- MARMOTSat (CO-128) (3U, 2026):
- Canadian 3U student CubeSat built at the University of Victoria under the CSA CUBICS initiative and launched on SpaceX Transporter-17; designated Canada-OSCAR 128 (CO-128) after commissioning its VHF/UHF amateur packet payload and HF ionospheric sounder.