SpaceX adds 26 satellites to its Starlink constellation with launch from California

a black and white rocket launches into an overcast gray evening sky, its engine thrust lighting up the landscape.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 26 Starlink satellites lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
(Image credit: SpaceX)

And then there were 26 more.

SpaceX again grew its broadband internet constellation on Thursday (June 12), launching a new batch of Starlink spacecraft from California into its group of more than 7,600 active satellites in low Earth orbit.

Riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the Starlink units lifted off from Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:54 p.m. EDT (6:54 p.m. PDT local time or 0154 GMT on June 13).

The 26 new satellites were on track to separate from the Falcon 9’s second stage at one hour and one minute after they left the ground.

Part of their ride was powered by the Falcon 9’s first stage, serial B1081, which SpaceX has flown 14 times before (according to SpaceX’s web page for the 15-6 mission). On Thursday, it again touched down on the ocean-based droneship “Of Course I Still Love You,” which was stationed off the coast of southern California.

SpaceX’s record for reusing a Falcon 9 first stage stands at 28 launches.

a spent stage of a rocket stands on its landing legs atop a sea-based platform after returning from space. — The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen after touching down on an ocean-based drone ship in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The company, led by billionaire Elon Musk, bills the Starlink service as “high-speed internet around the world” and its satellite megaconstellation does now reach around the planet. A growing number of the spacecraft support direct-to-cell capabilities, enabling texting and internet service from certain smart phones and service providers.

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

With Thursday’s launch in the books, SpaceX has now launched 72 Falcon 9 missions in 2025, of which 53 have been in support of the Starlink service.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of “Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.