VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of the Transporter-16 mission is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg SFB in the early morning hours of Monday, March 30, 2026.
The 57-minute launch window is currently scheduled to open at 3:20 a.m. Pacific Time Monday and a backup window has been designated for the following day, Tuesday, March 31, at the same time.
A live webcast of the launch will begin about 15 minutes before liftoff. You can watch it here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.
The Transporter-16 mission will carry 119 payloads, including cubesats and microsats, a reentry vehicle, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying eight of the payloads that will be deployed at a later date shared SpaceX.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the mission will include multiple demonstrations including new thermal protection systems and advanced in-space communications.
The new thermal protection system will be tested using a pair of instrumented tiles developed by NASA's Ames Research Center and sensors on the W-6 capsule developed by Varda Space Industries will capture data about hypersonic atmospheric entry as the capsule returns to Earth.
Varda Space Industries' W-2 capsule reentering Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 27, 2025. The distinctive streak was produced by the NASA-developed heat shield that will be tested by the W-6 capsule. Image courtesy of Varda Space Industries.Additionally, the Atmosphere Effects of Precipitation through Energetic X-rays or AEPEX CubeSat will study high-energy particles from the Earth's radiation belt, also known as the Van Allen belts, which transfer energy into our planet's upper atmosphere through a process known as energetic particle precipitation.
Earth's radiation belts. Image courtesy of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado.The research into the phenomena could improve space weather forecasting, which impact communications networks here on Earth explained NASA.
Monday's launch will also include three CubeSats built by three teams as part of the MagQuest challenge to devise tools to enrich our study of the Earth's magnetic field.
NASA also shared that the TechEdSat23 CubeSat aboard Transporter-16 will test three key technologies: an exo-brake device used for rapid deorbiting of spacecraft, a new radiation sensor called the Radiation Shielding Efficacy Testbed, and a miniatured National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Data Collection System radio.
An artist's depiction of NASA's tension-based exo-brake attached to a CubeSat with the International Space Station in the background. The flexible, parachute-like device deploys from the rear of a satellite to increase drag, slowing the object as it exits orbit. Image courtesy of NASA.The R5-S10, also known as the Realizing Rapid, Reduced-cost high-Risk Research project Spacecraft 10, CubeSat will test emerging technologies to improve small spacecraft capabilities while in low-Earth orbit including proximity operations and formation flying techniques noted NASA.
The CubeSat will eventually be deployed from the Vigoride orbital service vehicle operated by Momentus Space and will also use a high-rate tolerant star tracker intended to help spacecraft verify its orientation during space-based maneuvers.
The Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle in a clean room being prepared for launch courtesy of Momentus Space.Once deployed from the orbital service vehicle, the R5-S10 CubeSat will use Wi-Fi to transfer the data from its demonstrations using an in-space router developed by the Solstar Space Company.
Following first-stage separation during the launch process, the Falcon 9 booster assigned to the mission will return to Earth to land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship awaiting in the Pacific Ocean.
A depiction of that launch sequence is shown in the image below.
There is the potential for one or more sonic booms during the launch, but how far the sound travels will depend on weather and other conditions at the time.
This will be the 12th flight for the Falcon 9 on this mission which previously launched: SDA T1TL-B Tranche 1, SDA T1TL-C Tranche 1, and nine prior Starlink missions.
Falcon 9 launch of Transporter-16 mission scheduled from Vandenberg SFB early Monday News Channel 3-12.
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