SpaceX sends 29 Starlink satellites into orbit on Falcon 9 rocket launch from Florida

A white and black rocket lifts off into a bright blue sky on its way to deploy satellites into space. — SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink satellites into Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday, May 29, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX has 29 new Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit today (May 29), after their launch from Florida.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the broadband internet relay spacecraft lifted off at 8:57 a.m. EDT (1257 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX confirmed a successful deploy of the 29 Starlink satellites (Group 10-53) about an hour after they left the ground.

The first stage of an orbital rocket stands atop a platform in the ocean after landing on its four deployed legs. — The first stage from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on its four landing legs on the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" after sending 29 Starlink satellites in orbit from Florida on Friday, May 29, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Other Missions for Booster B1085

The Falcon 9 first stage (Booster 1085) completed its 16th reuse by landing again on the Atlantic Ocean-based autonomous droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas." It will be returned to the shore and SpaceX's facilities to be serviced and prepared for another launch.

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The launch raised the total count of active Starlink satellites to over 10,400, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell. The network provides access to the internet to those in areas where other means of connection is scarce, as well as supports in-flight wifi and direct to cell service on some carriers.

Friday's launch was SpaceX's 61st launch of the year and 655th completed mission since 2008.

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.