KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — SpaceX launched its latest dedicated rideshare mission on March 30, sending more than 100 payloads into sun-synchronous orbit.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 7:02 a.m. Eastern as part of the Transporter-16 mission. About two and a half hours later, SpaceX confirmed that all payload deployments from the rocket’s upper stage were completed.

The mission carried 119 payloads, including satellites released directly from the Falcon 9, along with hosted payloads and orbital transfer vehicles that will later deploy additional spacecraft.

The largest payload was Gravitas from K2 Space, a demonstration spacecraft backed by the U.S. Space Force. It is the first in the company’s “Mega class” of satellites, capable of producing 20 kilowatts of power. The company raised $250 million in December to expand production of large spacecraft, including for satellite operator SES.

Transporter-16 included both returning and new customers. Capella Space, HawkEye 360, Iceye, Satellogic, Spire, and Unseenlabs added spacecraft to their constellations through the mission.

British company SatVu launched HotSat-2, replacing its earlier HotSat-1 spacecraft that failed six months after launch. Sierra Nevada Corp. deployed three Vindlér radiofrequency-intelligence satellites built by Muon Space.

Several orbital transfer vehicles were also part of the launch. Momentus sent up Vigoride-7 with 10 demonstration payloads, while D-Orbit launched a new Ion vehicle and Exotrail introduced its second spacevan vehicle.

While rideshare missions combined with orbital transfer vehicles once raised concerns for small launch providers, demand for such transfer services has not met expectations.

“I think the market has spoken,” said Brian Rogers of Rocket Lab. He noted that such vehicles offer limited capability, stating, “you get, at best, one degree of inclination change.”

“It’s not the type of thing where you’re going to launch into SSO and then be able to swing over to mid-inclination,” he added. “It doesn’t add capability, and the price is still something equivalent to just buying a dedicated small launch.”

Adam Oakes of Firefly Aerospace agreed but said there could still be niche uses, such as missions beyond low Earth orbit. “I don’t think there’s going to be a world where there’s 14 OTV manufacturers,” he said.

“We’ve heard forever that the next OTV company was coming for small launch,” Rogers concluded. “It’s just not materialized because the economics don’t work out with the physics.”

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