SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

File: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the Starlink 9-10 mission on Nov. 8, 2024. Image: SpaceX

Update Apr. 22, 11:52 p.m. EDT (0352 UTC): SpaceX landed its booster on the droneship.

SpaceX launched its 40th Starlink mission of the year when its Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday night.

The Starlink 17-14 mission will add another 24 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation, which consists of more than 10,200 spacecraft.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 8:23:09 p.m. PDT (11:23:09 p.m. EDT / 0323:09 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.



SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1100. This was its fifth flight following the launches of NROL-105 along with three other batches of Starlink satellites.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1100 landed on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You’. This was the 192nd booster landing on this vessel and the 602nd booster landing to date for SpaceX.