SpaceX deploys two more Starlink groups into orbit on March 1 bicoastal launches

News
By published

Falcon 9 rockets flying from California and Florida lofted 54 satellites on March 1, 2026.

a montage of two photographs showing nighttime rocket launches, including a time lapse exposure
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California (at left) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida lofted 54 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX marched into the new month with a pair of Starlink launches from opposite coasts.

The company on Sunday (March 1) began with a Falcon 9 mission rom Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The 5:10 a.m. EST (1010 GMT or 2:10 a.m. PST local) liftoff deployed 25 Starlink satellites (Group 17-23) into low Earth orbit.

Booster 1082 missions

USSF-62 | OneWeb Launch 20 | NROL-145 | 16 Starlink missions

Booster 1078 missions

Crew-6 | SES O3b mPOWER-B | USSF-124 | Bluebird 1-5 | Nusantara Lima (PSN N5) | 20 Starlink missions

Both first stage boosters were successfully recovered. Booster 1082 launched from California completed its 20th flight by landing on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Booster 1078 wrapped its 26th launch on the deck of the "Just Read the Instructions" droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The launches increased the count of Starlink satellites currently in orbit to more than 9,900, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

Sunday evening's flight from Florida was SpaceX's 27the launch of the year and 620th completed mission in its history.

Robert Z. Pearlman
Robert Z. Pearlman
collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.

In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.