“Our OTV eliminates the barriers that make it more challenging for spacecraft to access uncommon orbits in LEO and beyond. “Sherpa-LTC’s transportation capabilities coupled with the reliability and consistency of Starlink missions create an ideal solution for the customer’s unique mission needs,” said Curt Blake, CEO and president of Spaceflight. The Sherpa-LTC vehicle uses a bipropellant, “green” or non-toxic propulsion system developed by Benchmark Space Systems. The mission patch for the Sherpa-LTC mission shows an illustration of the Spaceflight-built orbital transfer vehicle. The Varuna tech demo payload was designed and built by Astro Digital, which also provided the command and control system for the Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle. Spaceflight’s solar-powered orbital transfer vehicle will perform a sequence of burns to reach a circular orbit round 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) above Earth, where the Varuna tech demo mission will get underway. The Sherpa-LTC deployed first about 49 minutes into the flight, followed by separation of the 51 Starlink satellites at T+plus 72 minutes. The Falcon 9 rocket deployed the Sherpa-LTC transfer vehicle with the Varuna tech demo mission into a near-circular orbit at an average altitude of around 192 miles (310 kilometers) above Earth, and an inclination of 53.2 degrees to the equator. The Varuna-TDM mission will provide prospective users of the broadband satellite constellation “an opportunity to evaluate the performance of V-band communications links and ascertain their attributes and acceptability for specific applications,” Boeing said. The mission is designed to demonstrate technologies and perform in-orbit performance testing for a V-band communications system, a proposed 147-satellite constellation to provide broadband connectivity to commercial and U.S. The Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle on the Starlink 4-20 mission carries Boeing’s Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission, or Varuna-TDM. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography This 200-second exposure shows the Falcon 9 rocket streaking into space from Cape Canaveral on Sunday night. Built by Spaceflight, a Seattle-based spacecraft developer and rideshare launch broker, the Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle is designed to ferry small satellites and hosted experiments to different altitudes and inclinations after an initial ride into orbit from a large rocket. The secondary passenger was the chemically-propelled Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer vehicle riding on the Starlink payload stack inside the Falcon 9’s payload fairing. The rocket lofted 51 flat-packed Starlink spacecraft, less than the number carried on a typical Starlink launch from Florida, to accommodate a rideshare payload. The main payload for Sunday night’s mission, designated Starlink 4-20, was the next batch of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites. There was an 80% chance of favorable weather for the launch opportunity Sunday night, according to the U.S. EDT Sunday (0209:40 GMT Monday), marking SpaceX’s 40th launch of the year. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket occurred at 10:09:40 p.m. Head to to see our full launch schedule.SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Sunday night with 51 more Starlink internet satellites and a rideshare payload that will use a Spaceflight-built orbital transfer vehicle to climb into a higher orbit to test broadband communications technology for Boeing. Follow their instructions to view the information for your launch! If you are planning on boating or flying on launch attempt days, it's important to check this information. Space Launch Delta 45 posts hazard and airspace restrictions for each launch here on the Space Coast. Hazard and Airspace Restriction Information While you can see launches from almost anywhere on the Space Coast, check out this Google Map for some local favorites & NASA suggested spots for the best rocket launch views. *All launch dates and times subject to change May: Falcon 9 - Axiom Mission 2: Space Tourism grows with a private crew mission to the International Space Station.April: Atlas 5 - CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test: Boeing gets to test its new Starliner capsule with humans.March: Delta 4 Heavy - NROL-68: Experience the power of the Delta 4 Heavy. March: Falcon 9 - Polaris Dawn: Civilian Astronauts take off to perform the first civilian space walk.
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