Brief
SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 after three‑week pause
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 8:28 p.m. EDT, recovered its first stage on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You,” and deployed the payload 62 minutes later.
By Felo News Desk · Published
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 27 Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Oct. 12, 2026, ending a three‑week hiatus for Falcon 9‑based Starlink missions.
The liftoff occurred at 8:28 p.m. EDT (5:28 p.m. local time; 00:28 GMT on Oct. 13). The rocket’s first stage touched down on the Pacific‑based drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” about 8.5 minutes after launch, marking the 20th launch and landing of booster B1088. The expendable upper stage released the 27 satellites into low‑Earth orbit 62 minutes after liftoff, according to SpaceX’s X post.
This flight was the first Falcon 9 Starlink mission since Sept. 19, when another 27‑satellite batch was launched from the same site. In 2025 the Falcon 9 flew 165 times, nearly three‑quarters of those for Starlink, but launch cadence has slowed in 2026. The Oct. 12 launch was the 112th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year and the 82nd for the Starlink constellation, which now holds more than 11,100 active satellites.
SpaceX recently used its Starship megarocket to deploy 26 next‑generation V3 Starlink satellites on Sept. 28, its 14th test flight, marking the start of a shift toward Starship for future large‑scale deployments. Elon Musk has indicated that the Starlink V3 constellation will eventually comprise about 100,000 satellites, all to be launched on Starship, while the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are slated for retirement in the coming years.
Key facts
- SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg on Oct. 12, 2026. (space.com)
- The launch time was 8:28 p.m. EDT (00:28 GMT on Oct. 13). (space.com)
- Booster B1088 landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” 8.5 minutes after liftoff. (space.com)
- The satellites were deployed 62 minutes after launch. (space.com)
- This was the first Falcon 9 Starlink launch since Sept. 19, 2026. (space.com)
Sources
- [1] space.com — originally reported as “SpaceX launches Falcon 9 Starlink mission for 1st time in more than 3 weeks (photos)”
