Launcher’s Orbiter SN1 arrives in orbit
January 10, 2023
The Orbiter SN1 from Launcher, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, USA, was successfully launched into orbit January 3, 2023, mated to the Falcon 9 rocket as part of an SpaceX rideshare mission. The platform features an additively manufactured propellant tank, combustion chamber, and injector as part of the chemical propulsion module.
The Orbiter SN1 from Launcher, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, USA, was successfully launched into orbit January 3, 2023, mated to the Falcon 9 rocket as part of an SpaceX rideshare mission. The platform features an additively manufactured propellant tank, combustion chamber, and injector as part of the chemical propulsion module.
Orbiter can carry up to 400 kg of payload mass in the form of small and cube satellites and can support components and payloads by providing power, communications, and other commodities. Orbiter is equipped with a chemical propulsion system that uses ethane and nitrous oxide propellants, and the vehicle will initially provide up to 500 m/second of delta-v, or change in velocity. Orbiter is designed to integrate with SpaceX Transporter 70 cm ports and maximise the available volume to its customer payload.
When Orbiter completes its transfer mission, the platform is expected to continue to host components and payloads for up to two years. This enables both early-stage and mature space companies to increase the heritage and technology readiness of their payload or components without the added cost of a dedicated spacecraft and ground operations infrastructure.
First contact with Orbiter has been achieved.
