Capella to use SpaceX for Two Acadia Satellite Launches

After facing deployment challenges due to an Electron launch failure, Capella Space has reconfigured its satellite launch plans. On December 5, the company announced an agreement to launch two of its Acadia satellites on SpaceX rideshare missions in the first half of 2024. The satellites, Acadia-4 and Acadia-5, are scheduled for deployment on the Bandwagon-1 mission in April 2024 and the Transporter-11 mission in June 2024, respectively.

Capella decision to collaborate with SpaceX enables the deployment of its spacecraft into diverse orbits. The Bandwagon-1 mission represents the inaugural launch of SpaceX dedicated rideshare missions, designed to reach mid-inclination orbits. This is a departure from the sun-synchronous orbits typically accessed by Transporter missions.

In a company statement, Frank Backes, the CEO of Capella Space, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "Working with SpaceX to launch our Acadia satellites into a variety of orbits is a huge win for Capella and will enhance our ability to bring greater coverage and higher revisits over key areas of interest across our customer spectrum."

Earlier, Capella Space had entered into a contract with Rocket Lab in February for four launches of its Acadia satellites. Each launch was intended to carry a single Acadia satellite, with the series of launches slated to commence in the second half of 2023. The first launch successfully placed the initial Acadia satellite into orbit on August 23. However, the second launch on September 19 experienced a failure when the second-stage engine shut down immediately after ignition, resulting in the loss of the satellite.

Rocket Lab attributed the failure to an "unexpected electrical arc" in the power supply of the upper stage. While Capella continues to work with Rocket Lab for upcoming launches, the recent agreement with SpaceX adds flexibility to Capella deployment strategy.