Pandora / Twilight rideshare mission
The mission
The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope that will improve our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres by disentangling exoplanet signals from their host stars, as well as studying host star variability with long-duration observations of 20 unique planets through visible-light photometry and near-infrared spectroscopy. Also launching on this launch are 39 other ride-share payloads under the "Falcon 9 Twilight mission" manifested by Exolaunch, including satellites from Spire Global and Kepler Communications.
Mission timeline
Where it leaves Earth
Launch site
Ground vector
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
- Latitude
- 34.632°N
- Longitude
- 120.611°W
Can I see this?
Distance and a plain visibility call from a place you choose. Trajectory is not modeled — night launches travel farther across the sky than daylight ones.
Save a viewing place to judge this pad from where you stand.
Range weather
Launch commit criteria
Clear — tracking no weather issues at this time.
- Primary concern
- No weather issues
- Rule count
- 0
- Temperature
- Not reported
- Surface wind
- Not reported
01:19 PM UTC – 02:16 PM UTC
Vehicle & provider
Schedule history
No meaningful launch-time or status changes recorded.