SpaceX has set the Vandenberg launch schedule for a Falcon 9 mission that will carry 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in an overnight window between 8:45 p.m. Friday and 12:48 a.m. Saturday. The launch will lift off from Space Launch Complex-4 on the South Base, adding No. 73 to 2026's count.
The first-stage booster is set for its 18th flight and will land on Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean for reuse on a future mission. SpaceX also plans a live webcast about 10 minutes before liftoff, giving launch watchers a narrow window to follow the countdown if weather or range conditions hold the schedule.
Vandenberg Space Force Base count
The upcoming mission comes after an early Tuesday morning liftoff pushed 2026 above last year's total of 71. After that launch, Vandenberg officials said the base had supported 72 launches for 2026 from the U.S. Space Force's West Coast Spaceport and Test Range.
Officials also said the 72nd launch figure passed 2025's total launch count with more than two months left on the 2026 launch calendar. Including aeronautical operations, 2025 sits at 77, while the launch-only total has already been exceeded.
SpaceX Falcon cadence
The Friday-to-Saturday mission fits into a run of Falcon 9 flights from Vandenberg that has already included a June record and a tighter August pairing. In June, the SpaceX team at Vandenberg set a launch-to-launch record with missions 55 hours, 48 minutes, 21 seconds apart, and during August SpaceX logged its closest back-to-back launches, 38 minutes 31 seconds apart, with liftoffs from Florida and California.
Vandenberg has also handled two Minuteman III missile test launches, one Minotaur test launch for development of the nation's next generation intercontinental ballistic missile, and one Firefly Aerospace Alpha rocket launch this year. The bulk of the base's launches have come from SpaceX Falcon rockets, and the next payload adds another 27 satellites to that sequence.
Monday and Nov. 5
SpaceX has two more Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg planned for Monday and Nov. 5. One mission will carry a U.S. Space Force payload, and the other will place more Starlink satellites in orbit, which would push the West Coast installation to Nos. 74 and 75 for the year.
For launch watchers, the practical takeaway is simple: the next visible step is the overnight Falcon 9 window, and the calendar keeps moving after that. The Friday-Saturday mission is not an endpoint; it is the launch that keeps the 2026 count climbing while the base stays on pace for more flights before November closes in.
