SpaceX Launches 26 Starlink Satellites Into Orbit From California, Successfully Lands Falcon 9 Booster
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. —
SpaceX successfully launched 26 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Monday evening, June 16, continuing its rapid expansion of the global broadband internet network.
The launch took place at 8:36 p.m. PDT (11:36 p.m. EDT or 0336 GMT on June 17) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. A Falcon 9 rocket — making just its third flight — carried the Starlink Group 15-9 satellite batch into orbit.
Approximately eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the satellites reached low Earth orbit. The second stage of the Falcon 9 performed a planned second burn roughly an hour into the mission to prepare for satellite deployment.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9’s reusable first-stage booster, identified as B1093, made a precise landing on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” stationed in the Pacific Ocean. This was the booster’s third mission, having last flown in May on another Starlink mission.
Monday’s launch came just days after SpaceX deployed another batch of Starlink satellites from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 13. That earlier mission completed the company’s first-generation direct-to-cell constellation, designed to provide satellite connectivity to unmodified mobile phones in remote areas.
Although the June 16 launch did not carry direct-to-cell-enabled satellites, it still contributed significantly to the Starlink network, which now consists of over 7,760 active satellites in orbit, enhancing global broadband coverage.
