Falcon 9 Block 5 | SAOCOM 1B

The SAOCOM 1B spacecraft is the second of the two SAOCOM constellation satellites. It is tasked with hydrology and land observation, and will also operate jointly with the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation in X-band to provide frequent information relevant for emergency management. Two rideshare payloads are present - Tyvak-0172 and PlanetiQ’s GNOMES-1.

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.