California Bound: SpaceX Set to Propel 27 New Starlink Satellites into Orbit with Falcon 9

SpaceX is gearing up to dispatch its next group of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission scheduled for Saturday morning will carry 27 second-generation Starlink satellites, setting a new record for this satellite type.

Launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) is expected at 7:35 a.m. PST (10:35 a.m. EST, 1535 UTC). Spaceflight Now will provide live updates starting approximately 30 minutes before launch.



The Falcon 9 first stage booster designated for this mission, tail number B1082, will launch for the tenth occasion. SpaceX has previously utilized it for missions including USSF-62, OneWeb 4, and seven earlier batches of Starlink satellites.

Of the four boosters still operational, this one has exclusively launched from the West Coast.

Shortly over eight minutes into the mission, B1082 is set to target a landing on the SpaceX drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ If successful, this will mark the 117th booster landing on OCISLY and the 399th booster landing overall.

The Starlink 11-8 mission activates a higher number of second-generation satellites into orbit in a single batch than ever before. As per SpaceX’s 2024 Progress Report, the firm announced the development of Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites. These satellites not only feature enhanced capabilities but are also lighter, enabling a greater number to be launched simultaneously. SpaceX stated that its latest iteration of the V2 Mini is 22 percent lighter than the original version.

“These satellites incorporate a new backhaul antenna supported by a dual band chip designed and constructed by SpaceX, known as Doppio,” SpaceX noted. “The satellites boast upgraded avionics, propulsion, and power systems and are tailored for Falcon 9 to permit the launch of up to 29 satellites in each mission – representing six additional satellites per launch compared to the initial V2 Mini design.”

It remains uncertain whether SpaceX launched any of these new satellites prior to the Starlink 11-8 mission. At the start of 2024, SpaceX typically dispatched 23 Starlink satellites from Florida and 22 from Vandenberg, provided that satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities were not onboard.

The Starlink 6-39 mission, which took off on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 25, 2024, was the inaugural flight to feature 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, but there was no indication that any of them were optimized.

It was not until Nov. 11, 2024, when another set of 24 satellites was launched, which again occurred at Cape Canaveral. Subsequently, there have been six more missions each featuring 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites.