Space News (1/13, Subscription Publication) reports that a SpaceX Falcon 9 “placed more than 100 smallsats into orbit Jan. 13 as the company accelerates the pace of its dedicated rideshare missions.” Thursday’s launch was called Transporter-3. The Falcon 9 “lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:25 a.m. Eastern.” The launch carried 105 satellites, and the largest single customer was Earth observation company Planet, “which flew 44 SuperDove spacecraft.”

Bloomberg (1/13) reports that Transporter-3 included three South Africa-produced nanosatellites.

CBS News (1/13) reports that the Transporter-3 launch was SpaceX’s fourth launch on a southern trajectory, “targeting an orbit around Earth’s poles where satellites can observe the entire planet as it rotates below.”

Source: AIAA Daily Launch January 14, 2022