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SpaceX Sets Vandenberg Starlink Launch as Starship Flight 10 Nears Sunday Test

The Sunday test follows FAA closure of the Flight 9 probe, with trials planned for booster landing burns, a Raptor relight, modified heat-shield tiles and new fittings.

BOCA CHICA BEACH, TEXAS - MARCH 06: SpaceX Starship Flight 8 takes off from Orbital Launch Pad A at Boca Chica beach on March 06, 2025 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The SpaceX Starship Flight 8 test launched and successfully caught its booster upon descent. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump listens as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11 in Washington, DC.
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Overview

  • Friday’s Falcon 9 mission from Vandenberg targeted 10:02 a.m. PDT to send 24 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E.
  • First stage booster B1081 was slated for its 17th flight with a planned droneship landing on Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
  • Vandenberg officials warned residents in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties that sonic booms could be heard during the operation.
  • Starship Flight 10 is scheduled for Sunday with a window opening at 7:30 p.m. ET, aiming for a Super Heavy splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico and an upper-stage splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
  • The mission plan calls for landing-burn experiments on the booster, deployment of eight Starlink simulators, an in-space Raptor engine relight, and reentry tests using updated thermal protection systems.