Update May 13, 12 a.m.: SpaceX confirms successful deployment of the Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base Monday evening.
The mission, dubbed Starlink 15-4, added another 26 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened 6:15 p.m. PDT (9:15 p.m. EDT, 0115 UTC).
SpaceX used the Falcon 9 first stage booster 1088 to launch this mission. Its previous five flights included NASA’s SPHEREx observatory, the Transporter-12 smallsat rideshare and two missions for the National Reconnaissance Office.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1088 landed on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ which marked the 129th booster landing for this droneship and the 445th booster landing to date.
Monday night’s launch also represented SpaceX’s 18th launch this year from California. The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of the Air Force granted the company the ability to launch up to 50 times from pad 4 East annually.
SpaceX launch rate from California is currently about once every 7.3 days so far in 2025. Between its two pads and droneships in Florida, SpaceX’s East Coast launch rate is roughly once every 3.5 days.
