SpaceX launched yet one more batch of its Starlink broadband satellites at present (Oct. 27).
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 28 Starlink craft lifted off from California’s Vandenberg House Power Base at present at 8:43 p.m. EDT (5:43 p.m. native California time; 0043 GMT on Oct. 28).
Previous Booster 1082 missions
The rocket’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 28 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will be deployed about an hour after launch.
Today’s launch was the 137th Falcon 9 mission of the year and the third in the last three days. Ninety-eight of those flights have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, by far the largest satellite network ever assembled.
SpaceX has launched more than 10,000 Starlink spacecraft to date, and nearly 8,750 of them stay energetic in LEO. The megaconstellation will get significantly greater, nonetheless, including maybe one other 30,000 satellites or so over the approaching years.
SpaceX extends its single-year launch file with each liftoff lately. The corporate’s earlier mark for orbital launches was 134, set in 2024.
