SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites from California, lands rocket at sea

SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites today (Oct. 27).

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 28 Starlink craft lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 8:43 p.m. EDT (5:43 p.m. local California time; 0043 GMT on Oct. 28).

The rocket's first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You." It was the 17th flight for this particular booster, which carries the designation 1082.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 28 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will be deployed about an hour after launch.

Today's launch was the 137th Falcon 9 mission of the year and the third in the last three days. Ninety-eight of those flights have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, by far the largest satellite network ever assembled.

SpaceX has launched more than 10,000 Starlink spacecraft to date, and nearly 8,750 of them remain active in LEO. The megaconstellation will get considerably bigger, however, adding perhaps another 30,000 satellites or so over the coming years.

SpaceX extends its single-year launch record with every liftoff these days. The company's previous mark for orbital launches was 134, set in 2024.