SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 29 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida

a white and black rocket lifts off into the night sky, its bright yellow-white plume lighting its launch pad below.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink satellites launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Another Starlink launch is now in the record books.

SpaceX on Sunday (Jan. 18) sent a new batch of 29 Starlink satellites (Group 6-100) into low Earth orbit. At 6:31 p.m. EDT (2331 GMT), the company launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

a first stage of a rocket stands on its four landing legs on an ocean-based droneship after a night launch — The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets stands on its four landing legs atop the Atlantic Ocean-based droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" after launching 29 Starlink satellites into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Past B1080 missions:

Ax-2 | Euclid | Ax-3 | CRS-30 | SES ASTRA 1P | NG-21 | 17 Starlink launches

The launch marked the 24th successful re-flight of the Falcon 9's first stage (B1080). The booster performed a propulsive landing, touching down on its four deployed legs atop the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The ever-growing Starlink megaconstellation now numbers more than 9,500 active satellites, according to tracker Jonathan McDowell. The network provides internet access to regions around the world where others means of connecting is sparse. The service also supports wifi on airlines and direct cell-to-satellite calls for select providers.

Sunday's launch marked SpaceX's 8th launch of 2026 and 591st Falcon 9 mission since 2010.

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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