SpaceX notched two big milestones on a single Falcon 9 liftoff today (Oct. 19).
Those 28 included the 10,000th Starlink spacecraft ever to reach orbit, which a SpaceX employee noted on the company’s launch webcast: “From Tintin to 10,000!
And don’t expect it to stop anytime soon: SpaceX already has permission to loft 12,000 Starlink satellites, and the megaconstellation could eventually consist of more than 30,000 spacecraft.
Most of the Starlink satellites that SpaceX has launched remain active — 8,608 are currently operational, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.
This launch was the second of the day for SpaceX; less than two hours earlier, another Falcon 9 sent 28 more Starlink satellites up from Florida’s Space Coast.
SpaceX achieved two significant firsts with a single Falcon 9 liftoff today (Oct. 19.
The 28 Starlink internet satellites were launched by a Falcon 9 rocket today at 3:24 p.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. M. GMT; 12:24 p.m. EDT (1924). A. local time in California).
During the launch webcast, a SpaceX employee said, “From Tintin to 10,000! Go Starlink, go Falcon, go SpaceX!” One of those 28 was the 10,000th Starlink spacecraft to ever reach orbit.
It was also the 132nd Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, matching the record set by the rocket the previous year. 2025 is still almost two and a half months away.
In February 2018, SpaceX launched Tintin A and Tintin B, the first two Starlink prototypes, into low Earth orbit (LEO). Fifteen months later, the company started construction on the megaconstellation. In October 2020, the business launched a public beta test of Starlink service, and the following year, it began a commercial rollout.
Starlink currently serves millions of customers worldwide, and SpaceX keeps improving that service by launching an increasing number of satellites to the farthest reaches of space.
SpaceX launched 89 Starlink missions in 2024 and has already surpassed that total this year, indicating that the pace has recently reached unprecedented heights. Expect it to continue for some time to come, as SpaceX already has authorization to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites, and the megaconstellation may eventually include over 30,000 spacecraft.
According to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, the majority of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are still in operation, with 8,608 of them in operation at the moment. Most of the others have been deorbited, guided down to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Every Starlink satellite lasts roughly five years in service. ).
Approximately 8:05 minutes after liftoff, the first stage of the Falcon 9 returned to Earth as scheduled, landing in the Pacific Ocean aboard the SpaceX drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.”. It was this specific booster’s eleventh launch and touchdown; it is designated 1088.
Meanwhile, an hour after liftoff, the upper stage of the rocket successfully launched the Starlink satellites.
The Falcon 9 launched 28 additional Starlink satellites from Florida’s Space Coast less than two hours prior, making this SpaceX launch the second of the day. That Falcon 9’s first stage’s 31st liftoff set a new reuse record.
