Mission

Skytrail

Mission Name

Skytrail

Carrier Name

ION SCV Passionate Paula

Launch Date

June 2025

Launch Site

Vandenberg

Launcher

SpaceX

Rocket

Falcon 9

Mission Status

Ongoing

Passengers

3

Hosted Payloads

3

Skytrail, June 2025
Skytrail Mission Booklet

Mission Updates

1.

UPDATE 1

June 24th, 2025

Launch

Skytrail, the 19th commercial mission of ION Satellite Carrier (ION), was launched on June 23, 2025, aboard a Falcon 9 as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission.
The launch occurred at 02:25:00 PT (21:25:00 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. ION SCV Passionate Paula separated from the launch vehicle approximately one hour later, entering a Sun-Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of around 510 km. Also on board the same Falcon 9 was ION SCV Charismatic Carlus, flying the Space Bound mission.
Throughout the Skytrail mission, ION SCV Passionate Paula will perform three in-orbit demonstrations of hosted payloads.

System verifications and spacecraft diagnostics are currently underway, as the mission prepares to transition into its operational phase.
Image: Photo Credit: SpaceXPhoto Credit: SpaceX

Roadmap

PHASE 1 - COMMISSIONING

As soon as ION SCV Passionate Paula reaches orbit, our spacecraft operations engineers will establish a bidirectional communication channel and start the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), neutralizing the rotation imparted by the launch vehicle during separation, correcting the attitude, testing the satellites' subsystems, and preparing for the next phases.

PHASE 2 - COMMERCIAL PHASE, HOSTED PAYLOAD DEMONSTRATION

Once concluded the commissioning phase, ION SCV Passionate Paula will start the commercial phase of the mission, which will consist in the in-orbit demonstration of the third-party payloads hosted onboard. For this mission, ION will perform 3 in-orbit demonstrations of hosted payloads.

PHASE 3 - DECOMMISSIONING

At the end of the mission, the platform will join the fleet of IONs already in orbit and operated by the company. At the end of its life, the spacecraft will be decommissioned in compliance with the Space Debris Mitigation guidelines. The pressure vessels will be depleted from leftover fuel and oxidizer, the battery charging system will be deactivated, and the batteries will be completely discharged. The spacecraft, now inert, will enter a decommissioning trajectory that will bring it to burn up upon atmospheric re-entry within a few years.

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