File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the launch position during sunset at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX
Update Oct. 27, 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 UTC): SpaceX landed its Falcon 9 booster.
SpaceX will deploy another batch of Starlink satellites from a Falcon 9 rocket, which launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California early Tuesday morning.
Liftoff of the Starlink 15-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4E happened at 12:25 a.m. PDT (3:25 a.m. EDT / 0825 UTC).
Falcon 9 first stage booster B1082 made its 26th flight on this mission and will head south-east from California’s central coast as it targets an orbit inclined 70 degrees to the equator.
The booster, which entered service in January 2024, previously launched the USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20, NROL-145 and Transporter-18 missions, plus 21 batches of Starlink V2 mini satellites.
B1082 landed on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ station in Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
About an hour into flight, following a short circularization burn, the stack of 27 Starlink satellites will be released from the Falcon 9’s second stage.