SpaceX launched 27 extra of its Starlink web satellites to orbit right now (Sept. 6).
The spacecraft rode to low Earth orbit (LEO) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted off from California’s Vandenberg House Power Base at 10:26 a.m. EDT (1426 GMT; 7:26 a.m. native California time). The Falcon 9 rose into blue morning skies — one thing of a rarity for California’s central coast, which is commonly cloaked in fog.
The Falcon 9’s first stage got here again to Earth as deliberate 8.5 minutes later, touchdown within the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Nonetheless Love You.”
It was the nineteenth flight for this specific booster, which is designated B1088. This marks in regards to the midway level to the SpaceX file of 37 flights, which was set by B1067 throughout a Starlink launch on Aug. 25.
The Falcon 9’s higher stage, in the meantime, carried the 27 Starlink satellites to LEO, deploying them on schedule 62 minutes after launch.
Earlier Booster 1088 launches
As we speak’s launch was the 103rd Falcon 9 mission of 2026. Eighty of these flights have been devoted to constructing out the Starlink megaconstellation, by far the most important satellite tv for pc community ever assembled. It at present consists of greater than 11,000 energetic spacecraft, according to astronomer and satellite tv for pc tracker Jonathan McDowell.
Starlink missions fly completely out of Vandenberg today. SpaceX used to launch them from Florida as nicely, however the firm just lately put these missions on maintain till it will get its Starship megarocket up and operating on the House Coast.
SpaceX will depend on Starship to launch its next-gen Starlink V3 satellites, that are greater and extra succesful than the present V2. The corporate desires to assemble a community of about 100,000 Starlink V3s in LEO, Elon Musk has mentioned.