SpaceX launches 100th Starlink mission of 2025

SpaceX launched its 100th Starlink mission of the year today (Oct. 31).

A rocket engine flame is seen peaking through some fog, but only barely. — SpaceX launched its 100th Starlink mission of the year on Friday (Oct. 31), from a foggy Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Most of SpaceX's launches these days go toward building out Starlink even further: The company has flown 138 Falcon 9 missions so far in 2025, and 99 have been Starlink efforts.

Watch Falcon 9 launch 28 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California https://t.co/OTOiWONK7jOctober 31, 2025

Previous Booster 1063 missions

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after launch, touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You."

It was the 29th flight for this particular booster, which is designated 1063. That's close to the Falcon 9 reuse record, which currently stands at 31 flights.

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage will continue hauling the 29 Starlink satellites to LEO, where they'll be deployed about an hour after liftoff.

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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