Update Sept. 19, 3 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the satellites.
Update Sept. 18, 12:09 p.m. EDT: SpaceX scrubbed the mission and is targeting launch on Sept. 19.
Update Sept. 17, 6:15 p.m. EDT: SpaceX scrubbed the launch due to weather. It’s now targeting launch on Sept. 18.
Following a pair of weather-related scrubs, SpaceX launched its latest batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into a polar, low Earth orbit.
The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday, Sept. 19, at 9:31 a.m. PDT (12:31 p.m. EDT / 1631 UTC). The Starlink 17-12 mission was the 84th mission supporting SpaceX’s megaconstellation in 2025, following the launch of Starlink 10-61 mission on Thursday.
Thunder was heard in the vicinity of the launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in the final minute of the countdown on Wednesday and weather appears to have scrubbed the mission again on Thursday, prior to fueling.
“This is SpaceX launch director on Countdown 1. Hold, hold, hold,” the launch director stated in the final minute of the count on Wednesday. “We’re standing down due to weather being no-go.”
SpaceX used the Falcon 9 first stage booster, B1088, to launch the mission, which was its 10th flight. Its previous flights included NASA’s SPHEREx rideshare, the Transporter-12 rideshare and two missions for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after taking off from the California coast, SpaceX landed B1088 on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This was the 152nd landing on this vessel and the 507th booster landing to date.
So far in 2025, SpaceX has launched more than 2,000 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. As it continues development of its Starship rocket, SpaceX plans to start deploying the significantly larger Starlink Version 3 satellites beginning in 2026.
