SpaceX celebrated Halloween with an early-morning launch from California.
AFalcon 9rocket lifted off fromVandenberg Space Force Basetoday (Oct. 31) at 12:04 a.m. EDT(0404 GMT; 9:04 p.m. on Oct. 30 local time), sending 27 of the company'sStarlinkinternet satellites tolow Earth orbit(LEO).
The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned, touching down about 8.5 minutes after launch on theSpaceXdrone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
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It was the 18th flight for this particular booster, which is designated B1093. The record for a SpaceX first stageis 37, set this past August by the booster B1067.
The Falcon 9's upper stage did its job as well today, deploying the 27 Starlink satellites into LEO about 62 minutes after launch. They're joining more than 11,000 spacecraft in the Starlink megaconstellation, which is by far the largest satellite network ever assembled.
Previous Booster 1093 launches
SDA-T1TL-B|SDA-T1TL-C|Transporter-16| 14 Starlink missions
Today's launch was the 118th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 so far. More than 70% of these missions have been devoted to building out the Starlink network.
SpaceX has also launched its Falcon Heavy andStarshiprockets three times apiece this year.Falcon Heavyis an operational vehicle, but Starship remains in the test-flight phase. The company is currentlygearing up for another Starship launch, which is expected to take place sometime in November.
Spaceflight and Tech Editor
Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor forSpace.comand joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
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