SpaceX achieved two major milestones on a single Falcon 9 launch on October 19. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:24 p.m. EDT (12:24 p.m. local time), carrying 28 Starlink internet satellites, including the 10,000th spacecraft in the constellation. A SpaceX employee celebrated on the company’s webcast: “From Tintin to 10,000! Go Starlink, go Falcon, go SpaceX!”
The launch also marked the 132nd Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, matching the record set last year — with nearly 2.5 months still remaining in 2025. SpaceX first sent the Starlink prototypes, Tintin A and Tintin B, into low Earth orbit in February 2018. The commercial rollout began in 2021 following a public beta test in October 2020, and Starlink now provides internet service to millions of customers worldwide.
The pace of launches has accelerated significantly. SpaceX flew 89 Starlink missions in 2024 and has already surpassed that number this year. The company currently has approval to launch 12,000 satellites, with plans for the megaconstellation to eventually include over 30,000 spacecraft. Of the satellites launched so far, 8,608 remain operational, while others have been deorbited to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. Each satellite has an expected operational life of around five years.
The Falcon 9 first stage returned safely to Earth approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, landing on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean. This marked the 11th launch and landing for booster 1088. The rocket’s upper stage deployed the satellites on schedule, one hour after launch.
This launch was SpaceX’s second of the day. Less than two hours earlier, another Falcon 9 launched 28 additional Starlink satellites from Florida’s Space Coast. That first stage was on its 31st flight, setting a new record for booster reuse.
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