SpaceX launches 26 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB

A Falcon 9 launches from SpaceX’s West Coast launch pad carrying 26 Starlink satellites. Image: SpaceX.

SpaceX launched its latest batch of 26 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit on Thursday nightfrom Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The mission, dubbed Starlink 15-6, lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 6:54 p.m. PDT (9:54 p.m. EDT, 0154 UTC).



The Falcon 9 first stage booster used for this mission is designated B1081, which was flying for a 15th time. Its previous flights included supporting NASA’s Crew-7, NASA’s PACE, ESA’s EarthCARE and two Transporter rideshare missions.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1081 landed on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 136th successful recovery on this droneship and the 461st booster landing to date.

Deployment of the 26 optimized Starlink V2 Mini satellites was confirmed just over an hour after liftoff.

SpaceX is also planning to launch another batch of Starlink satellites from Florida as early as Friday, June 13, at 11:21 a.m. EDT (1521 UTC).