SpaceX launch from California marks 2nd Starlink mission in 24 hours

SpaceX launched 24 more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit early Sunday morning (July 27), on the company’s second flight in less than 24 hours dedicated to growing its megaconstellation.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 12:31 a.m. EDT (0431 GMT or 9:31 p.m. PDT local on July 26) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The flight marked the 19th flight for the Falcon’s first stage (B1075), which successfully landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean.

The rocket’s upper stage propelled the Starlink satellites into space and was on track on deploy the group (no. 17-2) about an hour after leaving the ground.

The two dispatches in 24 hours increased the total number of active Starlink units in orbit to 8,032, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

Sunday morning’s launch marked SpaceX‘s 95th mission of 2025, 92 of which were on Falcon 9 rockets. It was the company’s 520th completed mission since 2008.