A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 broadband spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday evening. The launch, which occurred at 9:09 p.m. EST, marked the 23rd launch and landing for a particular booster, with all 14 previous Starlink missions being successful.
The rocket’s first stage successfully returned to Earth eight minutes after liftoff, touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You”. The upper stage then carried the satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them about 65 minutes after launch as planned.
This launch is part of SpaceX’s ongoing Starlink satellite constellation effort. With over 6,900 operational spacecraft currently in orbit, the Starlink system remains one of the largest ever launched. In 2025 alone, SpaceX has successfully launched 18 Falcon 9 missions, including 12 Starlink flights.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-launches-23-starlink-satellites-to-orbit-from-california-photos