SpaceX Opens Afternoon Launch Window at Vandenberg: Falcon 9 to Carry 27 Starlink Satellites on Booster's 20th Flight
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, California, Monday, Oct. 12 — SpaceX is targeting an afternoon launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, according to the Ventura County Star of the USA TODAY Network. The four-hour window runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT at Space Launch Complex 4-East (SLC-4E). It would be the first West Coast Starlink mission since Sept. 19 and Vandenberg's 69th rocket launch of 2026, putting the base on pace to pass the 71 launches recorded in all of 2025.
The mission, Starlink 15-25, is to deploy 27 Starlink broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster will be flying for the 20th time and is planned to land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean for reuse. The rocket will fly a southeast trajectory, and residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties may hear sonic booms as the booster returns.
The National Weather Service expects morning showers to give way to sunnier conditions around the launch window. A Federal Aviation Administration operations advisory points to a backup opportunity the next day if the attempt is postponed. SpaceX plans to stream the launch on its website starting about 10 minutes before liftoff. The launch had not yet taken place at publication time; GSM will follow up with the outcome.
Sources: Ventura County Star / USA TODAY Network, Oct. 12, 2026 (reporter Eric Lagatta); SpaceX, FAA and National Weather Service information; rewritten by GSM.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片 Image: U.S. Space Force photo by 2nd Lt. Andrew Taller, Vandenberg Launches Starlink Mission Aboard Falcon 9 Rocket, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
