SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from California with new batch of Starlink satellites

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Liftoff occurred at 1:05 a.m. EDT on Thursday (Aug. 14).

a downward-facing camera mounted on a rocket captures the booster's thrust as it climbs to space
A camera mounted to the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket captures the view looking back towards Earth during a late night launch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Aug. 14, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX continued the growth of its broadband internet service with the launch of 24 more Starlink satellites from California on Thursday (Aug. 14).

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:05 a.m. EDT (0505 GMT or 10:05 p.m. PDT on Aug. 13 local) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base. About nine minutes later, after a nominal ascent, the Starlink Group 17-4 mission reached space.

The Falcon 9's upper stage, powered by single Merlin engine, was on track to reach its planned orbit and deploy the satellites about an hour after it left Earth.

the first stage of a rocket stands on an ocean-based platform following a launch into space

The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands vertically atop a droneship in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 14, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Also to plan, the Falcon's first stage (Booster 1093) completed its fifth flight, landing on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. All of the booster's missions have been dedicated to growing SpaceX's megaconstellation.

With this launch, there are now more than 8,100 active Starlink satellites out of the nearly 9,400 launched since 2018, according to tracker Jonathan McDowell.

Thursday morning's launch from California was SpaceX's 98th Falcon 9 mission in 2025 and 516th flight since 2010. It was the 452nd reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage and 487th landing.

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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.

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