SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carries satellite made by Sonoma State University students into orbit

"At t-minus 60 seconds before liftoff last Friday morning, Laura Peticolas could be seen on a Zoom call crossing her fingers on both hands. Peticolas, a Sonoma State University professor who is associate director of its STEM learning center, has for the past five years been managing an evolving team of students who built a miniature satellite, or CubeSat, along with undergraduates from Howard University and the University of New Hampshire."

"Ignition, intoned a man in SpaceX mission control, after counting down from 10. Engines full power, and liftoff. Go Falcon, go Transporter 15. He was referring to the Falcon 9, a partially reusable rocket designed to carry satellites and smaller spacecraft into orbit. All told, the Transporter 15 mission deployed 140 satellites into orbit, where each will carry out its own mission."

Laura Peticolas watched the final countdown on Zoom, crossing her fingers as liftoff approached. She managed a multi-year student team from Sonoma State that built a CubeSat in collaboration with undergraduates from Howard University and the University of New Hampshire. The miniature satellite, slightly larger than a half-gallon milk carton, launched at 10:44 a.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 on the Transporter 15 mission deployed 140 satellites into orbit. The rocket had been postponed several times since its originally scheduled Nov. 10 launch. After first-stage separation, a remote camera showed rectangular containers poised for deployment.

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