SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 launch from California
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Station in California on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. | Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX expanded its megaconstellation into low Earth orbit on Tuesday (May 19), adding 24 more Starlink satellites in a successful launch from California.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 10:46 p.m. EDT (02:46 GMT on May 20 or 7:46 p.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Station in southern California. The Starlink satellites (Group 17-42), still mounted in the rocket’s upper stage, reached a preliminary orbit approximately 8 minutes and 40 seconds after launch.
The two dozen high-speed Internet relay units were about to be deployed about 50 minutes later.
The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on its landing legs as they hold the booster atop a drone based in the Pacific Ocean, “Of Course I Still Love You,” Tuesday, May 19, 2026. | Credit: SpaceX
Previous Launches of Booster B1103
1 Starlink mission
The Falcon 9 rocket, booster 1103, completed its first reuse (second flight) by landing on the Pacific Ocean-based droneship, “Of Course I Still Love.”
Tuesday’s launch brought the Starlink satellite network to just under 10,500 functional units, according to tracker Jonathan McDowell.
This is SpaceX’s 58th mission of the year and the company’s 651st successful launch since 2010.
