Abdelrahman
On Saturday evening, February 22, SpaceX successfully launched a new batch of Starlink internet satellites from southern California.
A Falcon 9 rocket took off at 8:38 p.m. EST (5:38 p.m. local time, or 01:38 GMT on February 23), carrying 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Station.
In a successful maneuver, the Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth approximately eight minutes after liftoff, landing on the drone ship named “Of Course I Still Love You,” situated in the Pacific Ocean.
This launch marked the 11th flight and landing for this specific booster, and the eighth Starlink mission overall, as outlined in a SpaceX mission report.
Meanwhile, the upper stage of the Falcon 9 continued its journey, delivering the Starlink satellites to a designated low Earth orbit (LEO), where the satellites were scheduled to deploy roughly 62 minutes post-launch.
Related: How to Observe and Track the Starlink Satellite Train in the Night Sky
In 2025, SpaceX has carried out 23 Falcon 9 missions to date, of which 17 have been dedicated to Starlink launches.
Currently, the Starlink megaconstellation, which is the largest ever assembled, boasts over 7,000 operational satellites, as reported by astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
