File: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the Starlink 17-31 mission on March 13, 2026. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX completed its 600th Falcon booster landing during a Starlink mission Sunday. The Falcon 9 rocket departed Vandenberg Space Force Base on a south-southwesterly trajectory at 9:03:09 a.m. PDT (12:03:09 pm EDT / 1603:09 UTC).
The Starlink 17-22 mission added another 25 broadband internet satellites into the company’s low Earth orbit constellation that consists of more than 10,200 spacecraft.
A launch attempt on Saturday was postponed. SpaceX typically does not explain the cause of such delays.
SpaceX used Falcon 9 first stage booster B1097, which was flying for a seventh time. It previously launched Sentinel-6B, Twilight, and five previous batches of Starlink satellites.
A little more eight minutes after liftoff, B1097 landed on the SpaceX drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ It was the 191st landing on this vessel.