SpaceX launches first West Coast Starlink mission of 2026

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 21, 2026, to begin the Starlink 17-30 mission. Image: SpaceX

Update Jan. 21 2:20 a.m. EST (0720 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 25 Starlink satellites.

SpaceX launched its first West Coast Starlink mission of the year to send its satellites into a polar low Earth orbit. 

The Starlink 17-30 mission adds 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to the company’s megaconstellation. This was SpaceX’s sixth Starlink mission so far in 2026.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 9:47:29 p.m. PST (12:47:29 a.m. EST / 0547:29 UTC). The rocket flew on a southerly trajectory upon leaving the pad.



SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1093. This was its 10th flight after launching two flights for the Space Development Agency and seven previous batches of Starlink satellites.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1093 landed on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 172nd landing on this vessel and the 562nd orbital booster landing for SpaceX.