SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg on brand new Falcon 9 rocket

Falcon 9 booster B1100 lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on its debut mission carrying 28 Starlink satellites. Image: SpaceX.
SpaceX launched a brand new Falcon 9 booster on a mission from California to deploy another batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, occurred at 12:48 a.m. PST (3:48 a.m. EST / 0848 UTC). It was the first flight of Falcon 9 first stage B1100, the eighth new booster to join the SpaceX fleet this year.

The Falcon 9 took a south-easterly trajectory on departure from Vandenberg, following the coast of California, as it targeted an orbit inclined at 53 degrees to the Equator. B1100 successfully touched down on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ about eight and half minutes into the flight.

Deployment of the 28 satellites from the rocket’s second stage was expected one hour into flight. This is the 110th Starlink delivery flight of the year. SpaceX announced earlier this month it now has 8 million customers for the Starlink service.