SpaceX to launch Transporter 18 with 130 payloads, including Google AI satellite

On Oct. 1 SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg on the Transporter 18 rideshare mission carrying 130 payloads. Among them are Google's Project Suncatcher AI satellite prototype with TPU chips, NASA's SPRITE telescope, and Starfish Space's first Otter servicing vehicle.

• Launch set for Oct. 1 at 11:18 AM PDT, a 58-minute window and the 110th Falcon 9 mission of 2026
• Google Suncatcher M1 will test TPUs in orbit against launch vibrations, radiation and cooling
• The 335 kg Otter, under a NASA contract, will inspect dead satellites for up to two years
• Exolaunch will deploy 45 satellites, including four ICEYE spacecraft