SpaceX Launches 25 Starlink Satellites in Vandenberg Launch Milestone
SpaceX’s vandenberg launch on April 26 sent 25 Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and marked the company’s 50th mission of the year. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 10:37 a.m. EDT, with the first stage returning to land on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You about eight minutes later.
The satellites deployed a little over 61 minutes after liftoff. SpaceX said 42 of its 50 launches this year have been Starlink missions, and all 50 have used Falcon 9 rockets.
Vandenberg Space Force Base
The launch added to SpaceX’s largest constellation, which the company described as nearly 10,300 active satellites. That makes the Vandenberg flight part of a year in which Starlink has accounted for most of SpaceX’s orbital traffic.
SpaceX also said booster 1088 completed its 15th launch and landing on the flight. The repeated reuse of that first stage kept the mission within the Falcon 9 fleet that has carried every SpaceX launch this year.
Falcon Heavy on April 29
SpaceX was eyeing Wednesday morning, April 29, for a Falcon Heavy launch carrying the ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite after bad weather stopped the planned April 27 liftoff. The company said it was also gearing up for the 12th suborbital trial of Starship as soon as next month.
For SpaceX, the immediate picture is a launch cadence still centered on Falcon 9, with Starlink as the main payload and two other programs waiting behind it. The next test is whether the company can keep that pace while moving Falcon Heavy and Starship toward their next flights.
