SpaceX Launches 54 Starlink Satellites, Exceeds 10,000 Active

SpaceX achieved a significant milestone in its satellite internet ambitions on Tuesday, March 17, by launching 54 Starlink satellites across two missions from California and Florida, pushing the active constellation beyond 10,000 spacecraft for the first time. The deployments from Vandenberg Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station marked the company's 378th Starlink mission overall and highlighted the rapid expansion of its low-Earth orbit network designed to deliver high-speed internet to remote and underserved areas worldwide.

The first launch occurred at 10:19 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on March 16 local time, or 11:19 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 17, from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg in Santa Barbara County, California. A Falcon 9 rocket carried 25 Starlink satellites into orbit on a southerly trajectory. The mission, designated Starlink Group 17-24, utilized a first-stage booster on its 14th flight. Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, the booster separated and executed a controlled descent, landing successfully on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You stationed in the Pacific Ocean. This recovery demonstrated SpaceX's ongoing...