SpaceX is preparing to launch its 50th dedicated Starlink mission of 2026 with a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday morning.
The Starlink 17-41 mission will add another 24 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation. It consists of more than 10,000 spacecraft in orbit.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 8:25 a.m. PDT (11:25 a.m. EDT / 1525 UTC). The rocket will fly on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX will launch the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1082. This is its 22nd flight after launching missions, like USSF-62, NROL-145, and OneWeb Launch 20.
More than eight minutes after liftoff, B1082 will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ If successful, this will be the 199th landing on this vessel and the 617th booster landing to date for SpaceX.
