3… 2… 1… SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on third-to-last mission of 2024

SpaceX has begun counting down to the New Year, with the launch of the first of three rockets planned to close out 2024.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 of the company’s Starlink satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday (Dec. 28). The mission launched at 8:48 p.m. EST (5:48 p.m. PST local time or 0148 GMT on Dec. 29) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E).

The satellites were on track to be deployed into low Earth orbit about 65 minutes later, as to plan. It was SpaceX’s 132nd Falcon launch this year, with two still scheduled over the next two days — a commercial communications satellites mission and another batch of Starlink satellites.

“We’re now targeting 134 launches — two shy of our last goal — to finish 2024 strong,” wrote Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s vice president of launch, on the social media network X. “Here’s to an awesome last couple of days in 2024 and an even better 2025!”

Saturday’s Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth safely, touching down on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff.

It was the 16th landing for this particular booster, according to a company mission description. Twelve of its 16 flights to date have been Starlink missions.

It was SpaceX’s 88th launch this year of Starlink broadband internet satellites, with just one failing due to an upper stage liquid oxygen leak.

“Ultimately, there is only one number that truly matters. ZERO failures. Our priority is – and will remain – safety and reliability above all else,” wrote Dontchev.

The Starlink megaconstellation — the biggest ever assembled — currently consists of nearly 6,700 active spacecraft, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.