SpaceX springs forward with another Starlink launch from California (video)
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Credit: SpaceX
A few hours after advancing daylight saving time, SpaceX launched the Starlink satellites on Sunday March 8.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:00 a.m. EDT (11:00 a.m. GMT or 4:00 a.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Station in California. About an hour later, SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of all 25 high-speed Internet relay satellites (group 17-18) to low Earth orbit.
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The Falcon’s first stage, Booster 1097, made its seventh spaceflight with a landing on the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Time-lapse photography captures footage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it launches from Vandenberg Space Station in California on Sunday, March 8, 2026. | Credit: SpaceX
Previous Booster 1097 Missions
Sentinel-6B | Dusk | 4 Starlink missions
The launch brought the total number of active Starlink satellites to 9,915, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
This was SpaceX’s 29th mission of the year and the 639th in its history.
