Updated
Updated · Spaceflight Now · Jul 21
SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites After Falcon 9 Abort
Updated
Updated · Spaceflight Now · Jul 21

SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites After Falcon 9 Abort

3 articles · Updated · Spaceflight Now · Jul 21

Summary

  • 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites reached orbit Tuesday after SpaceX scrubbed the first Starlink 17-39 launch attempt at engine ignition a day earlier.
  • 7:49 a.m. PDT liftoff from Vandenberg went smoothly, and the satellites deployed a little more than an hour into flight into a 97-degree low Earth orbit.
  • Booster B1082 flew for a 23rd time and landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You just over eight minutes after launch—its 212th recovery and SpaceX's 640th booster landing.
  • The mission was SpaceX's 85th Falcon 9 launch of 2026 and its 67th this year for Starlink, a constellation now topping 10,800 spacecraft.

Insights

With Starship's rise, is the record-breaking Falcon 9 rocket already flying into its sunset?
Starlink causes 50% of satellite collision risks. Is the mega-constellation becoming too dangerous?
As Starlink expands, is its atmospheric pollution an acceptable price for global internet?