When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/p>\n
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit today (Aug. 8) from California's scenic central coast.<\/p>\n
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base today at 12:35 p.m. EDT (1635 GMT; 9:35 a.m. local time), carrying 24 of the internet-beaming spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO).<\/p>\n
The rocket's first stage returned to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing in the Pacific Ocean atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You." It was the 16th flight for this particular booster, which is designated B1093.<\/p>\n
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink internet satellites from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Aug. 8, 2026. | Credit: SpaceX<\/p>\n
B1093's most recent flight before today was on July 14, when it launched 27 Starlink satellites to LEO from Vandenberg.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued carrying the 24 Starlink satellites toward LEO today, deploying them about 61 minutes after liftoff as planned.<\/p>\n
SDA-T1TL-B | SDA-T1TL-C | Transporter-16 | 12 Starlink missions<\/p>\n
Today's launch was the 92nd Falcon 9 liftoff of 2026, and the 71st of the year devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.<\/p>\n
Starlink, by far the largest orbiting network ever assembled, currently consists of more than 10,900 active satellites \u2014 and it's growing all the time.<\/p>\n