SpaceX launches 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg AFB

SpaceX commenced another eventful week with the successful launch of 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This launch marked the company’s latest achievement following the third test flight of its Starship rocket and three previous Falcon 9 missions.

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off on the Starlink 7-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 7:28 p.m. PT. The Falcon 9 first stage booster, bearing tail number B1075 in SpaceX’s fleet, was utilized for the tenth time on this flight. Prior to this mission, B1075 had completed two missions for the U.S. Space Development Agency and seven other Starlink missions.

Approximately eight minutes post-launch, the B1075 booster successfully landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This marked the 86th landing on OCISLY and the 285th successful SpaceX booster landing overall.

While the Starlink mission progresses, SpaceX and NASA are gearing up for the launch of a Cargo Dragon from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission represents the 30th flight under SpaceX’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA, aimed at transporting cargo and scientific payloads to the International Space Station.

Noteworthy is the fact that this mission will see the launch of a second-generation Dragon spacecraft to the ISS from SLC-40. The inaugural Dragon capsule had originally launched aboard the first Falcon 9 rocket from the pad in 2010. Operations later shifted to pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center after the retirement of the first-generation Dragon following the CRS-20 mission in March 2020.