Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission
Falcon 9 Block 5, SpaceX
Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Launch time
T-0
Sun 11 Jan, 14:44:50 CET
13:44:50 UTC
The rocket put its payload into the planned orbit.
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The source gives second precision. Launch plans can change.
Launch record updated by LL2
Feed checkedMission
Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission on Falcon 9 Block 5. Sun 11 Jan 2026, 13:44:50 UTC. Reported outcome: Success. Launch site: Space Launch Complex 4E. Source: Launch Library 2.
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.
- Mission type
- Astrophysics
- Orbit
- Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Rocket file imagery
File imagery: Crew-9, 28 September 2024. Falcon 9 lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40.
Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber · Public domain (NASA) · SourceLaunch timeline
Times are relative to liftoff.
- T+1 min 12 s
Max-Q
Maximum dynamic pressure
- T+2 min 15 s
MECO
Cut-off of the main engine
- T+2 min 18 s
Stage 2 Separation
Separation of the second stage from the first
- T+2 min 22 s
Stage 1 Flip
Flip maneuver of the first stage
- T+2 min 26 s
SES-1
First start of the second engine
- T+2 min 32 s
Booster Boostback Burn Startup
Start of the booster boostback burn
- T+2 min 56 s
Fairing Separation
Separation of the payload fairing
- T+3 min 26 s
Booster Boostback Burn Shutdown
End of the booster boostback burn
- T+6 min 8 s
Entry Burn Startup
Start of the atmospheric entry burn
- T+6 min 19 s
Entry Burn Shutdown
End of the atmospheric entry burn
- T+7 min 16 s
Stage 1 Landing Burn
Start of the first stage landing burn
- T+7 min 34 s
Stage 1 Landing
Landing of the first stage
- T+8 min 9 s
SECO-1
First cut-off of the second engine
- T+56 min 55 s
SES-2
Second start of the second engine
- T+56 min 56 s
SECO-2
Second cut-off of the second engine
- T+1 h 1 min 33 s
Payload Deployment Sequence Start
Start of the payload deployment sequence
- T+1 h 8 min 22 s
Payload Deployment Sequence End
End of the payload deployment sequence.
- T+1 h 43 min 4 s
SES-3
Third start of the second engine
- T+1 h 43 min 5 s
SECO-3
Third cut-off of the second engine
- T+2 h 14 min 51 s
SES-4
Fourth start of the second engine
- T+2 h 14 min 52 s
SECO-4
Fourth cut-off of the second engine
- T+2 h 19 min 56 s
Payload Deployment Sequence Start
Start of the payload deployment sequence
- T+2 h 32 min 59 s
Payload Deployment Sequence End
End of the payload deployment sequence.
Slip history
Changes recorded by Space Right Now
No changes since we started tracking on .
Source updates from Launch Library 2 (10)
Announcements supplied by LL2 may predate our tracking. They are separate from changes observed by Space Right Now.
- LL2 update
All payloads deployed, launch successful.
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Liftoff
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Unofficial Re-stream by SPACE AFFAIRS has started
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Tweaked T-0.
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Now targeting Jan 11 at 13:44 UTC
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Now targeting Jan 11 at 13:20 UTC
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GO for launch.
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NET January 11.
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NET January.
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Added launch. (launch date per https://bsky.app/profile/danielapai.bsky.social/post/3m4wrvazwz22s)
Read the source update
Launch pad
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (US)
Coordinates: 34.632, -120.611
View launch pad on a map