NASA has sent three small missions into orbit on a single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted off from California. The flight was a commercial rideshare, meaning the NASA spacecraft shared the rocket with other government and commercial satellites. This approach gives the agency extra chances to test new technology in orbit at lower cost. The first mission will try two kinds of propulsion on one tiny satellite, both fed by the same low-toxicity fuel.
A second satellite, SPRITE, is about the size of a shoebox. During its one-year mission, it will observe a range of ultraviolet light that cannot be seen from the ground. Scientists hope it will show how gas, dust, and high-energy radiation travel through galaxies and leak out into the space between them. The third mission, SSPICY, will demonstrate technology for inspecting and servicing satellites in space. A spacecraft called Otter will approach up to four non-working American satellites in low Earth orbit and collect information about their condition.