SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink satellites from California’s central coast late Wednesday night, according to Space.com. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. EDT, carrying 24 broadband spacecraft to low Earth orbit.
Flight Profile and Booster Recovery
Following a prompt liftoff at 8:30 p.m. local time, the two-stage Falcon 9 vehicle pierced the night sky over California, sending 24 Starlink satellites toward their designated destination in low Earth orbit. Roughly 8.5 minutes after leaving the pad, the rocket’s first-stage booster descended back to Earth as planned, successfully touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You,” as reported by Space.com.
Mission records highlight the remarkable longevity of the hardware involved in Wednesday’s operation. According to company mission descriptions noted by Space.com, the booster—cataloged as B1081—completed its 25th flight. Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage persevered with its payload, deploying all 24 broadband units on schedule just under 62 minutes into the flight.
Megaconstellation Growth and 2026 Manifest
As detailed by Space.com, the liftoff marked the 74th Falcon 9 flight of the year and the 59th mission dedicated entirely to building out the Starlink network.
Starlink maintains its position as the largest satellite network ever assembled, operating nearly 10,700 active units in orbit with that figure climbing steadily. While the Falcon 9 handles the vast majority of the workload, SpaceX has also executed two non-Falcon 9 missions this year, including a Falcon Heavy launch for the Viasat-3 F3 telecom satellite on April 29 and the 12th test flight of the Starship megarocket on May 22.
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