SpaceX Falcon 9 Sends 27 Starlink Satellites From Vandenberg, Tying California's Record of 71 Launches in a Year
Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California, hosted the state's 71st space launch of 2026 on October 23, as a SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off at 3:48 p.m. PT from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) carrying 27 Starlink internet satellites to low-Earth orbit. According to Space Force officials, the 71 launches tie California's annual record set in 2025.
The two-stage rocket had originally been set to lift off on October 20 and was delayed three times. After stage separation, the booster returned and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean for reuse. SpaceX leases SLC-4E from the U.S. Space Force, which manages the base.
The record-setting 72nd launch is already scheduled: another Falcon 9 carrying 27 more Starlink satellites, no earlier than October 26, with a launch window from 9:45 p.m. PT on October 26 to 1:45 a.m. PT on October 27.
Vandenberg's pace is set to quicken further. SpaceX will take over the refurbished Space Launch Complex 6, outfitted for its larger Falcon Heavy, which has never launched from California; Blue Origin plans to fly its 320-foot New Glenn from Space Launch Complex 14 at the base's southern tip, and United Launch Alliance is preparing the West Coast debut of its Vulcan rocket at SLC-3 East. The Space Force also recently sought applicants to lease the new Space Launch Complex 9 for small- and medium-lift rockets, and Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace also operate at the base.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 猎鹰9号火箭携星链卫星自范登堡太空军基地4号航天发射场升空（2026年4月同基地星链任务资料图）。照片：美国太空军，公共领域。 / A Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base (file photo from an April 2026 Starlink mission at the same base). Photo: U.S. Space Force, public domain.
