WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched the third in its series of mid-inclination dedicated rideshare missions April 21, but with very few rideshare payloads on board.
A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 8:48 p.m. Eastern on the Bandwagon-3 mission. The booster, on its third flight, touched down back at Cape Canaveral, landing on a pad adjacent to one where the booster from the SpX-32 cargo resupply mission launch had landed earlier the same day.
Bandwagon-3 was the third in a series of dedicated rideshare missions to mid-inclination orbits, following Bandwagon-1 in April 2024 and Bandwagon-2 in December 2024. The company announced the Bandwagon line of missions in 2023, citing demand for mid-inclination orbits that was second only to sun-synchronous orbits served by its Transporter series of missions.
However, Bandwagon-3 carried only three payloads: the 425Sat-3 spacecraft for South Korea’s military, Tomorrow-S7 for weather forecasting company Tomorrow.io and Phoenix, the first reentry vehicle by ATMOS Space Cargo, a German startup. By comparison, Bandwagon-1 carried 11 satellites while Bandwagon-2 had 30 satellites.
SpaceX didn’t explain the low number of payloads, but industry sources said on background that the relatively modest demand for mid-inclination orbits and the timing of this mission, just four months after Bandwagon-2, likely contributed to the lack of rideshare payloads.
While SpaceX said the Bandwagon missions were designed to meet demand for mid-inclination launches, they are also linked to a multi-launch contract the company has with the South Korean military for deploying five reconnaissance satellites, an effort known as Project 425. All three of the Bandwagon missions have included Project 425 satellites along with an earlier launch.
SpaceX, when announcing the Bandwagon program, said it would perform at least four launches, two in 2024 and two in 2025. The fourth Bandwagon mission, scheduled for later this year, would likely include the final Project 425 satellite. SpaceX has not announced any plans for Bandwagon missions after the fourth mission, and its rideshare website, which lists upcoming rideshare launch opportunities, does not list any missions going to mid-inclination orbits.
Some in the launch industry have criticized SpaceX’s rideshare missions for undercutting demand for small launch vehicles by offering launches at prices far lower than what dedicated vehicles can offer. However, Rocket Lab, whose Electron is the leader in the small launch vehicle market among Western providers, has argued that it not the case.
“Dedicated small launch is a real market, and it should not be confused with rideshare,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in an interview earlier this month during Space Symposium. “It’s totally different.”
He argued that customers may use rideshare launches for initial flights of their satellites, but then turn to a dedicated provider like Rocket Lab for deploying an operational constellation, giving the customer more control over orbits and schedule. “We have a lot of customers that will go and fly on a Transporter, and then they’ll come back and they’ll go book their whole constellation on us,” he said.
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