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SpaceX launches 24 Starlink internet satellites, lands rocket on ship at sea

a rocket rests on the deck of a ship at sea at night

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rests on the deck of a drone ship shortly after launching 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sept. 26, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX launched two dozen more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit this morning.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink craft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's central coast today at 12:26 a.m. EDT (0426 GMT; 9:26 p.m. on Sept. 25 local California time).

About 8.5 minutes later, the Falcon 9's first stage touched down on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

It was the 16th flight for this particular booster, which is designated B1082. Twelve of those missions have been Starlink launches.

Meanawhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying the Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit, where they're scheduled to be deployed 62.5 minutes after launch.

Previous Booster 1082 missions

This morning's liftoff was the 123rd Falcon 9 launch of the year, and the 15th to take place already this September.

The vast majority of the 2025 Falcon 9 launches — more than 70% of them — have been dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation. There are now nearly 8,500 active spacecraft in the network, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

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Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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