Update Jan. 21 2:20 a.m. EST (0720 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 25 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launched its first West Coast Starlink mission of the 12 months to ship its satellites right into a polar low Earth orbit.
The Starlink 17-30 mission provides 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to the corporate’s megaconstellation. This was SpaceX’s sixth Starlink mission thus far in 2026.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 9:47:29 p.m. PST (12:47:29 a.m. EST / 0547:29 UTC). The rocket flew on a southerly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
SpaceX launched the mission utilizing the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail quantity 1093. This was its tenth flight after launching two flights for the Space Development Agency and 7 earlier batches of Starlink satellites.
Just a little greater than eight minutes after liftoff, B1093 landed on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned within the Pacific Ocean. This was the 172nd touchdown on this vessel and the 562nd orbital booster touchdown for SpaceX.