SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites on Minuteman Iii Day
SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites on Tuesday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base, lifting off a Falcon 9 rocket at 10:46 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 4 East. The mission came on the same day as a Minuteman III test, and the launch added more satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit network.
The booster, 1103, completed its first reuse when it landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You. The satellites reached a preliminary orbit about 8 minutes and 40 seconds after launch and were on track for deployment about 50 minutes after liftoff.
Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 East
Robert Pearlman, a Space.com contributor and article author, wrote that SpaceX expanded its low Earth orbit megaconstellation on Tuesday, May 19, adding 24 more Starlink satellites on a successful launch from California. The launch raised the Starlink network to just under 10,500 working units, according to the tracking cited in the article.
The flight was SpaceX’s 58th mission of the year and its 651st successful launch since 2010. Those counts place the mission inside a steady launch cadence rather than as a standalone event, with the company continuing to add satellites while reusing boosters on routine flights.
Falcon 9 Booster 1103
Booster 1103’s landing marked its first reuse, which means the rocket stage flew a second mission before returning to the droneship. That recovery kept the booster in service after carrying the 24 Starlink satellites toward orbit.
For users tied to the Starlink network, the practical change is simple: 24 more satellites have been added to the system’s working fleet. The next step in this mission was deployment of the satellites about 50 minutes after launch, after they had already reached preliminary orbit.
