In what has become hardly a leap for the company, SpaceX concluded its Starlink satellite launches for February 2026 with a trio of flights this week.
On Tuesday (Feb. 24) at 6:04 p.m. EST (2304 GMT), a Falcon 9 lifted the first 29 satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The next day, 25 more Starlink units were sent space-ward by a different Falcon 9 flying at 9:17 a.m. EST (1417 GMT or 6:17 a.m. PST local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Also on all three flights, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage flew back to Earth to land on an ocean-based drone ship. Tuesday’s booster (B1092) touched down on Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its 10th mission. Wednesday’s booster (B1093) landed on Of Course I Still Love You stationed in the Pacific Ocean, marking the end of its 11th flight.
Friday’s booster (B1069) wrapped its 30th trip to space and back on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The 83 satellites boosted the commercial broadband internet network to including more than 9,850 units in Earth orbit, according to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
The Starlink service provides access to the internet to areas around the world where connectivity is sparse or non-existent. The network also supports cell-to-satellite on select carriers and in-flight wifi on some airlines.
Friday’s launch was SpaceX’s 25th Falcon 9 mission of 2026.
