The second sonic boom of the day echoed across Florida’s Space Coast on April 21 as a Falcon 9 booster safely returned to Cape Canaveral after lifting off with the Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission, SpaceX’s third such launch offering small satellite deployment services.
The evening liftoff at 8:48 pm ET from Space Launch Complex 40 marked the second Falcon 9 launch of the day, following the morning’s CRS-32 cargo mission to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center.
Within just hours, SpaceX demonstrated its increasing launch cadence and versatility.
Bandwagon-3 carried three commercial payloads: 425Sat-3 from South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD), Tomorrow-S7 by Tomorrow Companies Inc, and the Phoenix 1 reentry capsule built by German firm Atmos Space Cargo.
These missions reflect the growing appeal of SpaceX’s rideshare services, which offer cost-effective access to orbit for small payloads without requiring full rocket bookings.
According to Space.com, Phoenix 1 is the first reentry capsule ever launched by a European company. It aims to test an inflatable atmospheric decelerator during its return journey, expected to splash down in the Atlantic roughly 1,200 miles off Brazil’s coast after a single orbit.
Atmos Space Cargo called the mission a step toward “revolutionising space logistics” and enabling “microgravity research, in-orbit manufacturing, defense applications and life sciences.”
Meanwhile, Tomorrow Companies Inc. is developing a satellite constellation using AI and data to improve global weather resilience. Its Tomorrow-S7 payload is part of that initiative. The specifics of its mission remain closely held, reported Fox 35 Orlando.
425Sat-3 forms part of South Korea’s broader 425 Project, which strengthens the country’s military surveillance capabilities.
After payload deployment, the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster, flying for the third time after previously launching SES’s O3b mPOWER-E and Nasa’s Crew-10, returned to Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral, triggering a sonic boom that was heard across nearby areas, reported Florida Today.
The Bandwagon series began in April 2024 and has since expanded SpaceX’s ability to serve a variety of clients.
To date, the company has launched over 1,130 small satellites for 130 customers under its rideshare program. SpaceX also operates a separate Transporter line of rideshare missions, which began in 2021 and still holds the single-launch record of 143 satellites.
The next SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for no earlier than April 24 at 9:32 pm (local time), carrying Starlink 6-74 internet satellites.
United Launch Alliance’s Amazon Kuiper mission is also slated for liftoff from the Cape no earlier than April 28.
var _mfq = window._mfq || [];
_mfq.push([“setVariable”, “toi_titan”, window.location.href]);
!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) {
if (!isFBCampaignActive) {
return;
}
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
if (f.fbq) return;
n = f.fbq = function() {
n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(…arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);
};
if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;
n.push = n;
n.loaded = !0;
n.version = ‘2.0’;
n.queue = [];
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’, n, t, s);
fbq(‘init’, ‘593671331875494’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
};
function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive) {
if (!isGoogleCampaignActive) {
return;
}
var id = document.getElementById(‘toi-plus-google-campaign’);
if (id) {
return;
}
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.defer = !0;
t.src = v;
t.id = ‘toi-plus-google-campaign’;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, ‘https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074’, n, t, s);
};
function loadSurvicateJs(allowedSurvicateSections = []){
const section = window.location.pathname.split(‘/’)[1]
const isHomePageAllowed = window.location.pathname === ‘/’ && allowedSurvicateSections.includes(‘homepage’)
if(allowedSurvicateSections.includes(section) || isHomePageAllowed){
(function(w) {
function setAttributes() {
var prime_user_status = window.isPrime ? ‘paid’ : ‘free’ ;
w._sva.setVisitorTraits({
toi_user_subscription_status : prime_user_status
});
}
if (w._sva && w._sva.setVisitorTraits) {
setAttributes();
} else {
w.addEventListener(“SurvicateReady”, setAttributes);
}
var s = document.createElement(‘script’);
s.src=”https://survey.survicate.com/workspaces/0be6ae9845d14a7c8ff08a7a00bd9b21/web_surveys.js”;
s.async = true;
var e = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];
e.parentNode.insertBefore(s, e);
})(window);
}
}
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {};
var TimesApps = window.TimesApps;
TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) {
var isConfigAvailable = “toiplus_site_settings” in f && “isFBCampaignActive” in f.toiplus_site_settings && “isGoogleCampaignActive” in f.toiplus_site_settings;
var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime;
var isPrimeUserLayout = window.isPrimeUserLayout;
if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) {
loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(f.toiplus_site_settings.allowedSurvicateSections);
} else {
var JarvisUrl=”https://jarvis.indiatimes.com/v1/feeds/toi_plus/site_settings/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published”;
window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){
if (config) {
const allowedSectionSuricate = (isPrimeUserLayout) ? config?.allowedSurvicatePrimeSections : config?.allowedSurvicateSections
loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive);
loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive);
loadSurvicateJs(allowedSectionSuricate);
}
})
}
};
})(
window,
document,
‘script’,
);
#Elon #Musks #SpaceX #launches #Bandwagon3 #mission #rocket #returns #safely #Times #India
Tomorrow Companies Inc,Space Launch Complex 40,small satellite deployment,rocket returns safely,reentry capsule,Falcon 9,Elon Musk's SpaceX,Bandwagon-3 mission,Atmos Space Cargo,425Sat-3
latest news today, news today, breaking news, latest news today, english news, internet news, top news, oxbig, oxbig news, oxbig news network, oxbig news today, news by oxbig, oxbig media, oxbig network, oxbig news media
HINDI NEWS
News Source
