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SpaceX Boosts Starlink Constellation with 28 New Satellites — Falcon 9 Booster Completes 12th Flight

04:13 PM, 12/08/2025
SpaceX Boosts Starlink Constellation with 28 New Satellites — Falcon 9 Booster Completes 12th Flight

SpaceX launched 28 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Dec. 7, with the Falcon 9 lifting off at about 9:58 a.m. local time. The mission marked the 12th flight for the rocket's first-stage booster, which successfully landed on a drone ship in the Pacific. Residents in nearby California counties may have heard sonic booms. SpaceX has another launch scheduled later Sunday from Kennedy Space Center to deliver 29 additional Starlink satellites.

Dec. 7 — SpaceX on Sunday launched 28 additional Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base, the company said.

The payload rode a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East and lifted off at about 9:58 a.m. local time. According to SpaceX, this mission marked the 12th flight for the rocket's first-stage booster, which previously supported NROL‑126, Transporter‑12, SPHEREx and NROL‑57 and has now flown eight Starlink missions.

After stage separation, the first-stage booster conducted a controlled descent and successfully landed on a floating drone ship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX noted there was a possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties may have heard one or more sonic booms during the launch; whether people heard them depended on local weather and atmospheric conditions.

The company also has another mission scheduled later Sunday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with that rocket expected to deliver 29 more Starlink satellites into orbit.

Why It Matters

Each batch of Starlink satellites expands SpaceX's broadband constellation, supporting global internet coverage and improving redundancy and service capacity. Reusing boosters on multiple missions continues to lower launch costs and increase cadence.

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