SpaceX successfully conducted its inaugural rideshare mission in Colorado Springs. The mission, designated Bandwagon-1, delivered 11 commercial and military satellites into an orbit with an inclination of approximately 45°. The Falcon 9 rocket departed from Kennedy Space Center at 7:16 p.m. Eastern North American time and successfully landed in the designated area at the U.S. Space Force Station.

Bandwagon-1 represents the inaugural mission in a series of rideshare missions that SpaceX plans to conduct in the coming years. These missions will serve to complement the company’s existing missions. Unlike previous missions, where satellites were placed in sun-synchronous orbits, which are primarily used for remote sensing, Bandwagon is specifically designed to deliver payloads to lower Earth orbits with an inclination of approximately 45°.

At the Small Satellite conference in August 2023, SpaceX announced the Bandwagon programme. The company planned two such missions in 2024 and another in 2025. According to SpaceX representatives, orbits with an inclination of about 45° are the second most popular among rideshare customers after sun-synchronous orbits.