SpaceX Sends 27 More Starlink Satellites Up as Falcon 9 Launches Grow Less Frequent

SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites from the California coast on Oct. 23, Space.com reported. The flight carried the Starlink Group 15-15 satellites, 27 in all, and it came as the company flies its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket less often than before.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from Pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 6:48 p.m. EDT, which was 3:48 p.m. local time in California, according to Space.com.

How the launch unfolded

About 2.5 minutes into the flight, the rocket's first-stage booster, designated B1063, shut down its main engine and separated from the second stage, which continued toward low Earth orbit. The two-piece payload fairing that protected the satellites was jettisoned just before T+3 minutes.

The booster then turned around for its trip back to Earth. After the mission clock passed 8 minutes it fired its engines for the landing burn, and it touched down roughly 20 seconds later on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You. Space.com noted that this was the 36th launch and landing for B1063, a booster that also launched NASA's DART asteroid-smashing mission in November 2021.

The upper stage finished its first engine burn shortly after the landing. It was due to coast for about 45 minutes before a second and final burn to reach orbit. Deployment of the 27 satellites was scheduled to begin 62 minutes after liftoff.

Why Starlink launches are becoming less frequent

The new satellites join a constellation that Space.com says numbers more than 11,000 active spacecraft. But Starlink missions are no longer flying as often as they once did. At their peak, these flights left the pad every two to three days. The most recent one before Oct. 23 flew 11 days earlier, and that mission was itself the first Starlink launch in more than three weeks.

One reason is a shift in SpaceX's priorities. The company is turning its attention from the Falcon 9 to Starship, its larger, more powerful and fully reusable rocket. Starship has a payload bay built to carry SpaceX's upgraded Version 3 Starlink satellites, which are too big for the Falcon 9. Starship is still in development, but Space.com reported that once it begins operational flights, SpaceX plans to phase out the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy almost entirely.

The change is already visible in Florida. The Falcon 9's 100th launch of 2026 was the Starlink 10-49 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which was later revealed to be the last Falcon 9 Starlink mission to fly from Florida's Space Coast. Space.com suggested the same could soon be true for Starlink launches from the West Coast.

What it means for the Falcon 9's record year

The Oct. 23 flight was the 116th Falcon 9 mission of 2026, and about three-quarters of those have been dedicated to Starlink. The slower pace will most likely leave 2025 as the Falcon 9's busiest year ever, with 165 launches completed, according to Space.com. At its current rate, the rocket is expected to fly just under 150 missions by the end of this year.

For people who rely on Starlink service or simply watch launches, the practical takeaway is that fewer Falcon 9 flights are likely to carry the satellites in the months ahead, with larger Starship launches expected to take over once that rocket enters regular service. Starship remains under development.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Space.com