SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit today (Sept. 19).
AFalcon 9rocket carrying 27Starlinkcraft lifted off from California'sVandenberg Space Force Basetoday at 9:47 p.m. EDT (6:47 p.m. local time; 0147 GMT on Sept. 20).
The rocket's first stage returned to Earth about 8.5 minutes later, touching down in the Pacific Ocean atop theSpaceXdrone ship "Of Course I Still Love You." It was the 17th flight for this particular booster, which is designated 1093.
Latest Videos From
Space
View moreWatch full video here:
The Falcon 9's upper stage hauled the 27 Starlink satellites tolow Earth orbit, deploying them as planned about 62 minutes after launch.
There were already a lot of them up there: The ever-growing Starlink megaconstellation currently consists of more than 11,100 active spacecraft,according toastrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
Previous Booster 1093 launches
SDA-T1TL-B|SDA-T1TL-C|Transporter-16| 13 Starlink missions
Saturday's launch was the 107th Falcon 9 mission of 2026, and the 81st of the year dedicated to building out the Starlink network.
Those numbers are impressive, but they don't quite match SpaceX's record-breaking 2025 cadence: Last year, theFalcon 9 flew 165 times, and 122 of those were Starlink missions. (If SpaceX maintains its current rates this year, 2026 will see a total of 149 Falcon 9 launches, 113 of which are Starlink flights.)
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.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
