SpaceX sends 24 Starlink satellites into orbit on 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year

SpaceX sent another batch of its Starlink broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit today (Aug. 18), atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The launch, at 12:26 p.m. EDT (1626 GMT or 9:26 a.m. PDT local time) on Monday marked the company’s 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2025. It was SpaceX’s 103rd mission overall for the year, including three suborbital test flights of Starship, the rocket being developed to land humans on the moon and Mars.

Monday’s Falcon 9 mission reached its preliminary orbit about 9 minutes after leaving Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg and was on track to deploy the 24 Starlink satellites (Group 17-5) approximately 50 minutes later.

This launch marked the ninth flight for the Falcon 9’s first stage (Booster 1088). It successfully landed again on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.

With the 24 new satellites, SpaceX‘s Starlink megaconstellation now totals more than 8,100 active units, providing global coverage for the company’s clients. In total, over 9,400 Starlink satellites have been launched since 2018.

Monday’s launch was SpaceX’s 528th completed mission, 489th landing and 454th reflight of a Falcon 9 first stage.