SpaceX's Twilight Mission Launches 40 Spacecraft, Including NASA's Exoplanet Hunter

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried 40 spacecraft into orbit on a rideshare mission named Twilight. The launch took place on 11 January from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 8:44 a.m. Eastern time. Among the payloads were three NASA astrophysics missions, alongside commercial satellites for private companies.

The mission primarily deployed commercial real estate, including 10 optical data relay nodes for Kepler Communications and nine Lemur satellites for Spire. These payloads were released into dusk-dawn sun-synchronous orbits, a trajectory outside SpaceX's usual mission routes.

Three NASA astrophysics projects also hitched a ride: SPARCS, BlackCAT, and Pandora. The latter, a 325-kilogram spacecraft, features a 45-centimetre telescope designed to study exoplanet atmospheres by tracking planetary transits. Pandora marks the second mission from NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program to launch, following the PUEO balloon mission in December.

NASA has already selected further Pioneers missions, such as TIGERISS and Landolt, though no additional projects beyond the initial four concepts from 2021 have been officially confirmed. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA's astrophysics division, stated that the agency plans to choose more Pioneers missions later this year.

The Twilight mission successfully placed all payloads into their intended orbits. NASA's small satellites will now begin their scientific operations, while commercial partners proceed with their own objectives. Further announcements on new Pioneers missions are expected in the coming months.