SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites on Falcon 9’s 90th Flight of 2026

SpaceX launched 24 Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Aug. 4, 2026, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket — the company's 90th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year.

The Falcon 9 lifted off at 1:05 p.m. EDT (1705 GMT; 10:05 a.m. local time) from fog-shrouded Vandenberg and climbed toward a planned insertion into low Earth orbit (LEO) carrying the 24 satellites.

Credit: SpaceX

Launch And Deployment

The booster’s first stage, B1063, executed a nominal descent and touched down on the SpaceX droneship Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. This flight marked B1063’s 34th mission — two missions short of the current Falcon 9 reuse record.

If mission operations proceed as planned, the 24 Starlink satellites will separate and deploy roughly 61 minutes after liftoff, joining nearly 10,900 other spacecraft in the Starlink megaconstellation.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink internet satellites from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Aug. 4, 2026. | Credit: SpaceX

Booster History

Booster B1063 has supported a diverse manifest, including Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium missions, SDA-0B, several NROL launches and multiple prior Starlink flights.

Company Update

Later the same day SpaceX hosted a webcast at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) to present its first public earnings report covering Q2 2026; the webcast was available via SpaceX’s X account. Founded in 2002 as a private company, SpaceX went public in mid‑June 2026 following what was then the largest initial public offering in history.

Note: Mission timelines and deployment details are subject to change based on in‑flight operations and telemetry.