SpaceX just broke an uncharacteristically long Starlink launch drought.
The company sent 27 of itsStarlinkinternet satellites tolow Earth orbit(LEO) today (Oct. 12), launching them atop aFalcon 9rocket from California'sVandenberg Space Force Baseat 8:28 p.m. EDT (5:28 p.m. local time; 0028 GMT on Oct. 13)
It was the first Starlink mission for a Falcon 9since Sept. 19, which was another 27-satellite liftoff from Vandenberg. For some perspective on this recent gap: Between Aug. 19 and Sept. 6, a span of 19 days, SpaceX launched seven Starlink missions with Falcon 9s.
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SpaceX did loft a batch of Starlinks after that, but it wasn't aboard a Falcon 9. The company'sStarshipmegarocket carried 26 next-gen Starlink V3 craft on its 14th test flight, which took place on Sept. 28.
Starship reached orbit for the first time ever onFlight 14, and it deployed the Starlinks successfully as well. This will happen many more times going forward, if all goes to plan: The Starlink V3 constellation will eventually consist of about100,000 satellites, all of which will fly on Starship,Elon Muskhas said.
Indeed, SpaceX plans tosunset the Falcon 9and its cousin, theFalcon Heavy, in the next few years, shifting their duties over to the fully reusable, far more powerful Starship, which remains in the test-flight phase.
That shift will be a big one for the spaceflight community, for the Falcon 9 is the workhorse rocket of its generation. In 2025, for example, itflew 165 times— roughly the same number as the rest of the world's orbital launchers combined. Nearly three-quarters of those Falcon 9 launches were Starlink missions.
Things have slowed down a bit in 2026. Today's flight was the 112th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, and the 82nd in service of the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists ofmore than 11,100 active satellites.
Previous Booster 1088 launches
NROL-126|Transporter-12|SPHEREx|NROL-57|USSF-366| 14 Starlink missions
All went according to plan on today's launch. The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned, touching down about 8.5 minutes after launch on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 20th launch and landing for this particular booster, which is designated B1088.
The rocket's expendable upper stage, meanwhile, delivered the 27 spacecraft to LEO, deploying them there 62 minutes after liftoff,SpaceX announced via X.
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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