Particle.news
Download on the App Store
16 ARTICLES
·
4d ago

SpaceX Achieves 100th Falcon 9 Launch of 2025 With Starlink Deployment From Vandenberg

It highlights SpaceX’s cost-efficient satellite recovery practices in support of its push toward a 12,000-satellite global broadband network.

Image
image: ©dima_zel | iStock
SpaceX's Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster, seen here before the first test flight in 2023. The company is now targeting August 24, 2025 for its tenth flight, a crucial test for the rocket intended to return humans to the Moon. Credit: SpaceX, CC BY-NC 2.0
SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its Super Heavy booster is prepared for launch on its ninth test Tuesday, May 27 at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas.

Overview

  • On August 18, SpaceX launched 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking its 100th Falcon 9 mission of the year.
  • First-stage booster B1088 completed its ninth flight and landed upright on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You, representing the vessel’s 145th landing and the 489th overall.
  • The mission increased SpaceX’s active Starlink constellation to over 8,100 satellites out of nearly 9,400 launched since 2018, advancing toward its planned 12,000-satellite target.
  • Following deployment, the Falcon 9 second stage executed a planned deorbit burn east of New Zealand to minimize orbital debris.
  • Additional Starlink V2 Mini launches are slated from Vandenberg later in August, reinforcing SpaceX’s strategy of high launch cadence and booster reuse.