SpaceX kicked off a doubtlessly busy weekend with the release of a batch of Starlink satellites this night time (May 9) from California.
A Falcon 9 rocket introduced SpaceX‘s Starlink 15-3 project from Vandenberg Space Force Base nowadays at 8:19 p.m. EDT (5:19 p.m. native time; 0019 GMT on May 10).
The stack of 26 Starlink satellites started their adventure into low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard a Falcon 9 first-stage booster designated B1081. This was once the 14th release of B1081, which has supported six earlier Starlink missions.
The booster’s 9 Merlin engines bring to an end roughly 2.5 mins into flight, adopted briefly order through the separation of B1081 from the rocket’s higher level.
About 8.5 mins after liftoff, the booster landed safely on SpaceX’s Of Course I Still Love You drone send, stationed within the Pacific Ocean.
The rocket’s higher level persisted towards LEO with the 26 Starlink satellites; it is anticipated to free up them from the rocket’s payload adapter about one hour into flight. Each satellite tv for pc will maneuver into extra explicit orbits to inside the Starlink megaconstellation over the following few days.
SpaceX’s Starlink community is composed of greater than 7,000 operational satellites and counting. As a complete, they perform in a lattice that blankets just about all the planet, save for the poles. Starlink gives customers a high-speed web connection from anyplace (instead of the poles) consumers are ready to indicate their Starlink receiver towards the sky.
Tonight’s release was once SpaceX’s 54th Falcon 9 project of 2025 and 56th liftoff up to now this yr. The different two missions concerned Starship, SpaceX’s next-generation super-heavy-lift rocket. The corporate is gearing up for every other Starship check flight — the automobile’s 9th general — within the coming weeks.