Falcon 9 Block 5 | Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission

The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope that will improve our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres by disentangling exoplanet signals from their host stars, as well as studying host star variability with long-duration observations of 20 unique planets through visible-light photometry and near-infrared spectroscopy. Also launching on this launch are 39 other ride-share payloads under the "Falcon 9 Twilight mission" manifested by Exolaunch, including satellites from Spire Global and Kepler Communications.

Astrophysics · Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)

• B1097 · flight 5 · Return to Launch Site @ Landing Zone 4 · landed ✓ · last flew Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 11-25 · zone record 35/35

• SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Twilight (Pandora & Others) - SLC-4E - Vandenberg SFB - January 11, 2026 — SPACE AFFAIRS
• Live: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Twilight rideshare mission from Vandenberg, California — Spaceflight Now
• Twilight Mission — SpaceX

1. T+1M12SMax-Q
2. T+2M15SMECO
3. T+2M18SStage 2 Separation
4. T+2M22SStage 1 Flip
5. T+2M26SSES-1
6. T+2M32SBooster Boostback Burn Startup
7. T+2M56SFairing Separation
8. T+3M26SBooster Boostback Burn Shutdown
9. T+6M8SEntry Burn Startup
10. T+6M19SEntry Burn Shutdown
11. T+7M16SStage 1 Landing Burn
12. T+7M34SStage 1 Landing
13. T+8M9SSECO-1
14. T+56M55SSES-2
15. T+56M56SSECO-2
16. T+1H1M33SPayload Deployment Sequence Start
17. T+1H8M22SPayload Deployment Sequence End
18. T+1H43M4SSES-3
19. T+1H43M5SSECO-3
20. T+2H14M51SSES-4
21. T+2H14M52SSECO-4
22. T+2H19M56SPayload Deployment Sequence Start
23. T+2H32M59SPayload Deployment Sequence End

• All payloads deployed, launch successful.

  hitura-nobad · 1/11/2026 · source

• Liftoff

  hitura-nobad · 1/11/2026 · source

• Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started

  LL2 · 1/11/2026 · source

• Tweaked T-0.

  Cosmic_Penguin · 1/11/2026 · source

• Now targeting Jan 11 at 13:44 UTC

  Cosmic_Penguin · 1/11/2026 · source

• Now targeting Jan 11 at 13:20 UTC

  hitura-nobad · 1/10/2026 · source

• GO for launch.

  Cosmic_Penguin · 1/7/2026 · source

• NET January 11.

  Cosmic_Penguin · 1/2/2026 · source

• NET January.

  Cosmic_Penguin · 12/30/2025 · source

• Added launch. (launch date per https://bsky.app/profile/danielapai.bsky.social/post/3m4wrvazwz22s)

  Cosmic_Penguin · 12/9/2025 · source