SpaceX Sends 24 Starlink Satellites Into Polar Orbit With Late-Night Launch
Hey, have you heard about the latest SpaceX launch? It happened just last night, and it was pretty impressive. SpaceX successfully launched 24 more Starlink satellites into orbit—this time heading on a polar trajectory to help expand internet coverage in the polar regions of the world. The launch took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with liftoff occurring at exactly 9:31 p.m. Pacific Time, which is 12:31 a.m. Eastern.
Now, here’s where it gets even more interesting. The rocket used for this mission was a Falcon 9, as usual, and the booster that carried it—designated B1075—was flying for the 19th time. Yeah, that’s not a typo. Nineteenth launch. This booster has already seen action in missions like Transporter-11, SARah-2, and 15 previous Starlink batches. SpaceX has really nailed this whole reusability thing, and they proved it again last night.
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About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the booster made a smooth landing on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You , which was waiting out in the Pacific Ocean. That marked the 142nd landing for that particular droneship and the 481st overall booster landing for SpaceX. Just let that sink in—481 rocket landings. What used to seem like science fiction is now practically routine.
This specific mission, known as Starlink 17-2, is part of a broader push to improve satellite internet service, especially in remote and underserved areas like the polar regions. Unlike other orbits that focus more on equatorial coverage, polar orbits allow satellites to pass over the Earth’s poles, giving coverage to areas that have traditionally been tough to reach.
And while this launch was making headlines, SpaceX is also getting ready for another major event—the Crew-11 mission. The four-person team, including astronauts from NASA, Roscosmos, and the Japanese space agency JAXA, just arrived in Florida to prep for their trip to the International Space Station. That mission is expected to launch later this week from Kennedy Space Center.
So yeah, it’s been a big week for SpaceX, with back-to-back Starlink deployments and a human spaceflight mission right around the corner. The sky’s not even the limit anymore—it’s just the beginning.
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