Overview

• SpaceX’s Falcon 9 placed three new Pixxel hyperspectral satellites and Dhruva Space’s LEAP-1 into orbit on a rideshare that also carried OHB Italia’s NAOS and other smallsats.
• The additions bring Pixxel’s Firefly constellation to six satellites in sun-synchronous orbit near 550 km, with stated daily global revisit at 5-metre resolution across more than 135 spectral bands.
• Pixxel confirmed successful separations and said commissioning and calibration are underway before delivering operational data products.
• Dhruva Space’s LEAP-1 used the company’s P-30 satellite bus and carried payloads from Akula Tech and Esper Satellites in a commercial technology demonstration.
• Reports differed on the launch site, with accounts citing either Cape Canaveral, Florida, or Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.