SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral and readies Vandenberg launch

On 9 July 2026 SpaceX lifted off 29 Starlink V2‑Mini satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The flight used booster B1067, which completed its 36th mission—a record for the company’s reusable fleet. After stage separation the first‑stage landed on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic. The payload entered a low‑Earth‑orbit insertion trajectory, expanding the Starlink mega‑constellation, now over 10,700 operational satellites. Residents in Central Florida reported “space jellyfish” displays caused by sunlight reflecting off the rocket exhaust.

In parallel SpaceX is preparing a separate Vandenberg launch from California. The mission, scheduled for Friday evening, will deploy 24 additional Starlink satellites (Starlink 17‑48) using Falcon 9 booster B1071, with its first stage slated to land on the Pacific‑based droneship “Of Course I Still Love You.” Both launches continue SpaceX’s rapid cadence of adding low‑orbit broadband capacity worldwide.