SpaceX launches 10,000th active Starlink satellite into low Earth orbit

Almost seven years after starting to build out its broadband constellation in low Earth orbit, SpaceX now has more than 10,000 active Starlink satellites circling the planet.

The company launched two new batches of the internet relay units on Tuesday (March 17), totaling 54 satellites. The milestone 10,000th Starlink was on board the first Falcon 9 rocket, which successfully lofted 25 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The second launch added an additional 29 satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The Starlink megaconstellation now numbers 10,049 units, of which all but 10 are in working order, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell. An additional 1,509 Starlink satellites were launched since May 2019, but have since reentered Earth’s atmosphere and been destroyed.

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The Starlink group (17-24) launched Tuesday from Space Launch Complex 4 East in California lifted off at 1:19 a.m. EDT (0519 GMT or 10:19 p.m. PDT on March 16 local time). That mission’s Falcon 9 first stage (Booster 1088) completed its 14th flight with a touchdown on the Pacific Ocean-positioned droneship “Of Course I Still Love You.“

The second Starlink group (10-46) of the day departed from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Florida at 9:27 a.m. EDT (1327 GMT). The Falcon 9 first stage (Booster 1090) returned to Earth for the 11th time, landing on the “A Shortfall of Gravitas” droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Cape Canaveral launch marked SpaceX’s 34th Falcon 9 mission of the year and 378th Starlink launch in its history.