SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites to orbit from California

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites today (Aug. 30), sending 24 of them up from California’s central coast.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink craft lifted off today from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:59 a.m. EDT (0359 GMT; 9:59 p.m. local California time on Aug. 29).

The rocket’s first stage, designated Booster 1082, came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, touching down at sea on the SpaceX drone ship named “Of Course I Still Love You.” It was the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

That number, while impressive, is far from SpaceX’s reuse record of 30, which a Falcon 9 booster set this past Thursday (Aug. 28) on another Starlink mission.

If all goes to plan on today’s flight, the Falcon 9’s upper stage will deploy the 24 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit 62.5 minutes after launch.

Today’s launch was the 107th Falcon 9 flight of 2025. More than 70% of those missions have been dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, by far the largest satellite assemblage ever constructed. It currently consists of more than 8,200 operational satellites, and the number continues to grow.

SpaceX has also launched four other missions so far this year — test flights of Starship, the giant, fully reusable rocket it’s developing to help humanity settle the moon and Mars. The most recent of these Starship tests launched on Tuesday (Aug. 26) and was a complete success.