Will Robinson-Smith File – SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands in the vertical launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the launch of the Starlink 17-5 mission on Aug. 18, 2025. This was the ninth flight for Falcon 9 booster, tail number B1088. Image: SpaceX Update Feb. 25 10:15 a.m. EST (1515 UTC): SpaceX confirms touchdown of the booster. SpaceX launched its 500th Starlink satellite of the year during a flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday morning. The Starlink 17-26 mission added 25 broadband satellites to the growing constellation that’s nearing 10,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit. SpaceX confirmed a successful payload deployment an hour after liftoff. With this launch, SpaceX has flown 512 Starlink satellites to orbit in 2026. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 6:17:49 a.m. PST (9:17:49 a.m. EST / 1417:49 UTC). The Falcon 9 rocket flew on a southerly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.  SpaceX launched the Starlink 17-26 mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1093. This was its 11th flight following two missions for the Space Development Agency and eight previous batches of Starlink satellites. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1093 landed on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 180th landing on this vessel and the 577th booster landing for SpaceX.