Wish Upon a Star is the 17th commercial mission of D-Orbit’s Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), ION Satellite Carrier (ION).
The OTV was launched on 11 March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-13 mission at 23:43 PT (06:43 UTC – 15 March) from Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. One hour after liftoff, the ION vehicle, SCV Marvelous Mathias, was deployed into a heliosynchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 510 km.
“Wish Upon a Star is our third mission since the beginning of 2025, a year that is already characterised by a steadily growing demand for orbital transportation services and a strong need for reliable and flexible solutions,” says Matteo Andreas Lorenzoni, VP commercial strategy at D-Orbit, pictured with the mission team, in a note. “Our commitment to our customers, new and recurring, is to continue working to make space safer and more accessible.”
The ION Satellite Carrier is the versatile spacecraft capable of carrying and releasing satellites in separate orbital slots. It can also host third-party payloads, including innovative technologies, research experiments and instruments requiring in-orbit testing. In addition, ION can support edge computing and space cloud services, offering satellite operators advanced in-orbit storage and computing capabilities.
The D-Orbit mission control team is now conducting the launch and first orbital insertion (LEOP) phase, preparing the ground for the next operational phase.
On this mission, ION hosts several payloads on board:
- H.E.R.M.E.S. (High energy rapid modular ensemble of satellites) Pathfinder: a mission mainly funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and with contributions from the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), Milan Polytechnic (POLIMI), University of Cagliari (UNICA) and the European Commission. H.E.R.M.E.S. implements the revolutionary concept of space-distributed sensors for a new scientific era, through a pilot constellation of 6 CubeSats that, operating in triplets, will detect, locate and rapidly transmit random astronomical events such as Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) to the scientific community. The mission includes an innovative miniaturised spectrometer, conceived and developed by INAF, installed on a very agile 3U platform designed, developed and tested by PoliMi ASTRAlab. The constellation is able to continuously monitor almost the entire sky and, thanks to its co-locating capabilities, can rapidly transmit the coordinates of detected cosmic events to scientists within minutes via a continuous link with the Iridium constellation, the network of dedicated ground stations, the Scientific Operations Centre and the Mission Operations Centre, all implemented thanks to national funding from ASI.
- DARK, by Arkadia Space: Arkadia Space’s first in-orbit demonstrator will test two of its 5 N Triton thrusters under orbital conditions. Dark is both a complete propulsion system and a miniature test centre capable of delivering propellant under suitable conditions, operating and controlling the thrusters, acquiring and measuring over 60 channels of telemetry and recording data for analysis on the ground.
- Clustergate-1, by DPhi Space: the maiden flight of Clustergate, a shared payload platform facilitating access to orbit. It carries six payloads from different commercial and academic institutions, all connected to the Phoenix on-board computer, designed to provide plug-and-play integration and advanced edge processing capabilities in space. In addition, Clustergate-1 hosts several software payloads, with the ability to integrate more during flight.
- GO-2 Propulsion System, by Morpheus Space: a high-performance solution designed to meet the rigorous requirements of modern space missions. Leveraging FEEP technology, the GO-2 system offers precision, efficiency and reliability for missions requiring low-thrust, high-efficiency propulsion. The scalable design makes it adaptable for a wide range of applications, from deorbiting to thrust control and constellation management.
- AlbaPod 6P, by Alba Orbital: two deployers for 6P PocketQube satellites. PocketQubes, generally cube-shaped with 5 cm sides and a maximum mass of 250 grams, utilise standard commercial components. AlbaPod 6P aims to provide a reliable deployment platform for these small satellites, extending what can be achieved with small-scale space assets. The deployers host several PocketQubes, each with its own research objectives. Specifically, they will deploy HADES-ICM, HYDRA-W, UNICORN-2O, 2P & 2Q on this mission.
- Beyond Burials – Shooting Star Memorial: a symbolic payload transporting human remains on an orbital journey before re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere as a final celestial tribute.
ION also hosts an additional payload from an undisclosed client.
D-Orbit will launch its first ION in September 2020. With this launch, the company will have transported more than 180 payloads into space in total.
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