Countdown to Launch: Nine ZfT Satellites Ready for Liftoff

06.07.2026

Tomorrow marks a major milestone for the Zentrum für Telematik (ZfT) and its partners: nine satellites developed by ZfT and its partners are scheduled to launch aboard a single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-17 rideshare mission.

The launch campaign includes:

• 3 TOM satellites – demonstrating distributed Earth observation technologies.
• 5 CuBy satellites – Bavaria’s new multi-satellite Earth observation mission.
• 1 CloudCT-Precursor satellite – paving the way for future distributed cloud tomography missions. Together, these nine spacecraft represent years of research, development, integration, and testing by our teams and partners.

Launch Information

Planned liftoff: 07:13 UTC (09:13 CEST) (subject to launch provider updates).

The launch can be followed live via the official SpaceX launch page: https://www.spacex.com/launches/transporter17

Planned Deployment Timeline (Approximate)

Following orbital insertion, the satellites are expected to be deployed approximately 52 to 56 minutes after liftoff according to the following timeline:

Stay Up to Date

Throughout the launch campaign, we will publish regular updates, including launch status, deployment milestones, first contact confirmations, and commissioning progress.

Follow our News section and our LinkedIn Story for the latest updates as events unfold:

• News
• LinkedIn

What’s Next?

If the launch proceeds as planned, all nine satellites will enter the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) shortly after deployment. During the following hours and days, the operations teams will establish first contact with the spacecraft, verify the health of the onboard systems, and begin commissioning.

We wish all teams involved a successful launch and look forward to sharing the next milestones of the mission with you.