SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to put 32 payloads in orbit: All you need to know about Bandwagon-5

SpaceX is targeting October 20 for the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket carrying 32 payloads, including cubesats, microsats and reentry vehicles, on the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, according to the Elon Musk-led company's website schedule.

The launch is scheduled from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with the one-hour launch window opening at 4 pm India time.

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The launch is scheduled no earlier than 6:30 am Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday. If required, SpaceX has a backup launch opportunity on Wednesday, October 21, during the same one-hour window.

A live webcast will begin about 15 minutes before liftoff and will be available on SpaceX's website and its official account on X.

A booster on its 19th flight

The mission will mark the 19th flight of the Falcon 9 first-stage booster assigned to Bandwagon-5. The booster has previously supported Crew-9, RRT-1, Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1, Fram2, SXM-10, MTG-S1, EchoStar XXV and SXM-11, in addition to 10 Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the first stage is scheduled to land on SpaceX's A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The rocket's flight sequence includes the separation of its first and second stages about two minutes and 29 seconds after liftoff, followed by the separation of the payload fairing at the three-minute mark.

The first stage is scheduled to begin its entry burn six minutes and 36 seconds into the flight, with the landing burn starting at eight minutes and 33 seconds. The booster is expected to land approximately eight minutes and 58 seconds after liftoff.

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Payload deployment begins after second-stage restart

The Falcon 9's second stage is scheduled to restart its engine about 53 minutes and 48 seconds into the mission, with engine cutoff four seconds later.

The deployment sequence lists a range of satellites and other payloads, with the first scheduled deployment being T.MicroSat-3, supplied via Tron Future Tech and manifested by Exolaunch, at 57 minutes and 18 seconds after liftoff.

Other payloads listed for deployment include satellites from Tomorrow.io, ICEYE, Capella Space, Planet Labs, Umbra Lab, Viasat and other operators. The schedule also includes two payloads supplied via Xona Space Systems and manifested by Exolaunch.

The final listed deployment is Starfall, scheduled two hours, 48 minutes and 28 seconds after liftoff.

The launch is part of SpaceX's rideshare programme, which carries multiple payloads on a single rocket. Bandwagon-5's manifest includes 32 payloads, while the published deployment schedule details the planned release sequence for the mission.