On Thursday, January 13^th, SpaceX conducted the Transporter-3 mission that launched 105 spacecraft owned by multiple companies and organizations across the world. The Transporter-3 mission is the third spaceflight under the company’s SmallSat Rideshare Program which provides payloads a ride to space at a lower price tag by allowing organizations to share Falcon 9 rocket with dozens of other SpaceX customers. This program is ideal for businesses and schools with a smaller budget. Booking an entire Falcon 9 costs around $62 million, when sharing a rocket SpaceX customers pay $1 million for 200 kilograms to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) with additional mass at $5,000 USD per extra kilogram.

SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission launched eight small satellites built by Israel students from eight different high schools in the country, located in: Sha’ar Hanegev, Ofakim, Yeruham, Taibe, Nazareth, Ma’ale Adumim, Givat Shmuel and Kiryat Ata. Collectively, the small satellites are part of the ‘TEVEL program,’ which translates to “world” and “strong” in Hebrew. The program is a collaborative educational effort by the Israel Space Agency and the Science and Technology Ministry of the country.  

היסטוריה! 8 רשויות מקומיות, 250 תלמידים, ופרוייקט אחד פורץ דרך שלא נראה כמותו בעולם 🌍
ביום חמישי הקרוב, 13.1, ישוגרו לחלל שמונת הלוויינים של פרוייקט תבל 🛰️

הכירו את הפרוייקט של מועצה אזורית שער הנגב pic.twitter.com/i7zyvj9uVJ

— Israel Space Agency 🇮🇱 (@ILSpaceAgency) January 13, 2022

The satellites are equipped with radio FM transponders that will broadcast signals down to communication stations in Israel. The students worked for three years to complete the project and were excited to see their work finally launch to orbit by SpaceX. A previously-flown Falcon 9 lifted off a tenth time at 10:25 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to launch the satellites to orbit. The students gathered with school professors on Thursday to watch a Live broadcast of the Transporter-3 mission. “I was fascinated by this incredible program,” said Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen, “To see groups of students from all across Israel — from Nazareth to Givat Shmuel, Jews and Arabs, from the south and the center — shows how much science and technology connects people.” Read more about SpaceX’s Transporter-3 mission in the previous TESMANIAN article, linked below. 

Veteran SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Deploys 105 Spacecraft During Transporter-3 Missionhttps://t.co/gWgoxKxSG0

— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) January 13, 2022

Featured Image Sources: Israel Space Agency & SpaceX