SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites today (Oct. 27).<\/p>\n
A Falcon 9<\/a> rocket topped with 28 Starlink<\/a> craft lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base<\/a> today at 8:43 p.m. EDT (5:43 p.m. local California time; 0043 GMT on Oct. 28).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The rocket’s first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX<\/a> drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.” It was the 17th flight for this particular booster, which carries the designation 1082.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Previous Booster 1082 missions<\/p>\n The rocket’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 28 Starlink satellites toward low Earth orbit<\/a> (LEO), where they will be deployed about an hour after launch.<\/p>\n Today’s launch was the 137th Falcon 9 mission of the year and the third in the last three days. Ninety-eight of those flights have been devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, by far the largest satellite network ever assembled.<\/p>\n SpaceX has launched more than 10,000 Starlink spacecraft<\/a> to date, and nearly 8,750 of them<\/a> remain active in LEO. The megaconstellation will get considerably bigger, however, adding perhaps another 30,000 satellites or so over the coming years.<\/p>\n SpaceX extends its single-year launch record with every liftoff these days. The company’s previous mark for orbital launches was 134, set in 2024.<\/p>\n