
SpaceX sends 24 Starlink satellites to polar orbit in late night launch
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 8:52 p.m. PDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base's pad 4 East.
Watch Falcon 9 launch 24 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California https://t.co/LBEUcpxrDZ— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 19, 2025
About eight minutes later, Falcon 9's first-stage booster successfully landed on "Of Course I Still Love You" stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the booster's 14th mission, and 141st on this vessel and 477th of all droneships.
SpaceX has launched 88 Falcon 9 rockets this year and 516th overall in California and Florida.
The satellites were deployed into a polar orbit about one hour later.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/57IRErhmHN— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 19, 2025
The Starlink network includes 7,965 active units launched since 2019, Space.com reported.
The satellites provide broadband internet access and direct-to-cell service.
The next SpaceX flight from Florida is scheduled for 5:12 p.m. EDT Monday at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Complex 40. A Falcon 9 will launch the fifth pair of 03b mPower satellites to medium Earth orbit for Luxembourg-based SES.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Chicago Tribune
14 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
The Tea app was intended to help women date safely. Then it got hacked.
Tea, a provocative dating app designed to let women anonymously ask or warn each other about men they'd encountered, rocketed to the top spot on the U.S. Apple App Store this week. On Friday, the company behind the app confirmed it had been hacked: Thousands of images, including selfies, were leaked online. 'We have engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure our systems,' San Francisco-based Tea Dating Advice Inc. said in a statement. The app and the breach highlight the fraught nature of seeking romance in the age of social media. Here's what to know: Tea founder Sean Cook, a software engineer who previously worked at Salesforce and Shutterfly, says on the app's website that he founded the company in 2022 after witnessing his own mother's 'terrifying' experiences. Cook said they included unknowingly dating men with criminal records and being 'catfished' — deceived by men using false identities. Tea markets itself as a safe way for women to anonymously vet men they might meet on dating apps such as Tinder or Bumble — ensuring that the men are who they say they are, not criminals and not already married or in a relationship. It's been compared to the Yelp of dating. In an Apple Store review, one woman wrote that she used a Tea search to investigate a man she'd begun talking to and discovered 'over 20 red flags, including serious allegations like assault and recording women without their consent.' She said she cut off communication. 'I can't imagine how things could've gone had I not known,' she wrote. A surge in social media attention over the past week pushed Tea to the No. 1 spot at the U.S. Apple Store as of July 24, according to Sensor Tower, a research firm. In the seven days from July 17-23, Tea downloads shot up 525% compared to the week before. Tea said in an Instagram post that it had reached 4 million users. A female columnist for The Times of London newspaper, who signed into the app, on Thursday called Tea a 'man-shaming site' and complained that 'this is simply vigilante justice, entirely reliant on the scruples of anonymous women. With Tea on the scene, what man would ever dare date a woman again?' It's unclear what legal recourse an aggrieved man might have if he feels he's been defamed or had his privacy violated on Tea or a similar social media platform. In May, a federal judge in Illinois threw out an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit by a man who'd been criticized by women in the Facebook chat group 'Are We Dating the Same Guy,' Bloomberg Law reported. In its statement, Tea reported that about 72,000 images were leaked online, including 13,000 images of selfies or photo identification that users submitted during account verification. Another 59,000 images that were publicly viewable in the app from posts, comments and direct messages were also accessed, according to the company's statement. No email addresses or phone numbers were exposed, the company said, and the breach only affects users who signed up before February 2024. 'At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that additional user data was affected. Protecting tea users' privacy and data is our highest priority,' Tea said. It said users did not need to change their passwords or delete their accounts. 'All data has been secured.'


Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The Tea app was intended to help women date safely. Then it got hacked
Tea, a provocative dating app designed to let women anonymously ask or warn each other about men they'd encountered, rocketed to the top spot on the U.S. Apple App Store this week. On Friday, the company behind the app confirmed it had been hacked: Thousands of images, including selfies, were leaked online. 'We have engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure our systems,' San Francisco-based Tea Dating Advice Inc. said in a statement . The app and the breach highlight the fraught nature of seeking romance in the age of social media. Here's what to know: Tea was meant to help women date safely Tea founder Sean Cook, a software engineer who previously worked at Salesforce and Shutterfly, says on the app's website that he founded the company in 2022 after witnessing his own mother's 'terrifying'' experiences. Cook said they included unknowingly dating men with criminal records and being 'catfished'' — deceived by men using false identities . Tea markets itself as a safe way for women to anonymously vet men they might meet on dating apps such as Tinder or Bumble — ensuring that the men are who they say they are, not criminals and not already married or in a relationship. It's been compared to the Yelp of dating. In an Apple Store review, one woman wrote that she used a Tea search to investigate a man she'd begun talking to and discovered 'over 20 red flags, including serious allegations like assault and recording women without their consent.'' She said she cut off communication. 'I can't imagine how things could've gone had I not known,' she wrote. A surge in social media attention over the past week pushed Tea to the No. 1 spot at the U.S. Apple Store as of July 24, according to Sensor Tower, a research firm. In the seven days from July 17-23, Tea downloads shot up 525% compared to the week before. Tea said in an Instagram post that it had reached 4 million users. Tea has been criticized for invading men's privacy A female columnist for The Times of London newspaper, who signed into the app, on Thursday called Tea a 'man-shaming site'' and complained that 'this is simply vigilante justice, entirely reliant on the scruples of anonymous women. With Tea on the scene, what man would ever dare date a woman again?'' It's unclear what legal recourse an aggrieved man might have if he feels he's been defamed or had his privacy violated on Tea or a similar social media platform. In May, a federal judge in Illinois threw out an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit by a man who'd been criticized by women in the Facebook chat group 'Are We Dating the Same Guy,'' Bloomberg Law reported. The breach exposed thousands of selfies and photo IDs In its statement, Tea reported that about 72,000 images were leaked online, including 13,000 images of selfies or photo identification that users submitted during account verification. Another 59,000 images that were publicly viewable in the app from posts, comments and direct messages were also accessed, according to the company's statement. No email addresses or phone numbers were exposed, the company said, and the breach only affects users who signed up before February 2024. 'At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that additional user data was affected. Protecting tea users' privacy and data is our highest priority,' Tea said. It said users did not need to change their passwords or delete their accounts. 'All data has been secured.'' .
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk 'ordered Starlink coverage blackout' during crucial Ukraine counterattack
ELON Musk allegedly ordered a shutdown of Starlink coverage in parts of Ukraine during a crucial counteroffensive at the beginning of the Russian invasion, it has been reported. The billionaire's command allegedly led to a communications blackout while Ukrainian forces attempted to retake the port city of Kherson in the south of the country in September 2022. The communication blackout, where staff at the American tech firm deactivated at least 100 Starlink terminals after being instructed to, reportedly caused the attack to fail, according to Reuters, which spoke with three people who were familiar with the demand. According to reports, the blackout caused Ukrainian soldiers to panic as drones surveilling Russian forces went dark, and long-range artillery units, reliant on Starlink to aim at their targets, struggled to hit them. READ MORE: 'He belongs in The Hague': Keir Starmer fiercely criticised over Gaza speech Although Ukrainian forces were able to reclaim Kherson, the incident was reported to have damaged the country's trust in the technology, along with shocking Starlink employees. One of the three people who were familiar with the instruction claimed it enabled Musk to take 'the outcome of a war into his own hands'. The Tesla-owner reportedly grew concerned that Ukrainian forces' advancements could provoke nuclear retaliation from Vladimir Putin. A spokesperson for SpaceX, the aerospace company that owns Starlink, told Reuters the reporting of the incident is 'inaccurate'. In March, Musk posted on his social media platform, X/Twitter: 'To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.' Starlink, which went live in 2019, is a satellite company that beams data across its network and is the world's largest satellite operator. It provides customers with internet access in remote and unreliable locations and has a network of around 8000 satellites in orbit. It has been a key tool in Ukraine's defence, as Musk has provided the country with more than 50,000 Starlink terminals during the war. The network has allowed Ukrainians to speak to relatives across the world, and President Zelensky uses the network to transmit broadcasts to the nation. It is also used by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield to communicate and is used to guide drones and long-range artillery units.