SpaceX launches Starlink satellites to orbit on 70th Falcon 9 flight of the year (photos)
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The year isn't even half over yet, and SpaceX already has 70 orbital missions in the books.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 26 of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites lifted off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday (June 8) at 10:20 a.m. EDT (1420 GMT; 7:20 a.m. local California time).
It was SpaceX's 70th Falcon 9 launch of 2025. Fifty-two of those flights have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation in low Earth orbit (LEO), the biggest satellite network ever assembled.
About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9's first stage landed on SpaceX's Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the seventh launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The rocket's upper stage continued carrying the 26 Starlink satellites to LEO, deploying them as planned about an hour after liftoff. The newly launched spacecraft will now maneuver their way to join the megaconstellation, which consists of nearly 7,700 operational satellites (and counting).
Related stories:
— SpaceX: Facts about Elon Musk's private spaceflight company
— Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy
— SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit on record-breaking 28th flight (video)
SpaceX has certainly been busy so far in 2025, but it's still 100 launches away from its goal: Company representatives have said they aim to fly 170 orbital missions this year.
The 70-launch tally does not include the three missions of SpaceX's Starlink megarocket that have taken place in 2025. Those suborbital test flights lifted off in January, March and late May.
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