A brand-new first-stage booster made its first flight early Sunday morning to deliver the next set of Starlink satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The rocket blasted off at 12:48 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base.
Minutes later, the first-stage booster completed its chores and landed on the droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
A safe landing clears the way for the booster’s use on future missions.
“Reuse of Falcon boosters and fairings not only allows us to increase our launch cadence, but also to increase the reliability of our vehicle,” said Jon Edwards, SpaceX vice president of Falcon and Dragon programs. “Data from every mission helps make Falcon the safest and most reliable rocket in the world.”
The first-stage booster makes up the lower two-thirds of the Falcon 9 rocket.
Historically, other rockets used to carry satellites into space shed the first-stage booster into the ocean since every liftoff involved entirely new components for each launch.
Along with recycling the first-stage booster, Falcon recovers and reuses payload fairings, or the two nose cone halves, for multiple missions.
SpaceX confirmed the 28 Starlink satellites on board Falcon deployed from the rocket.
Credit: SpaceX photo
Sunday’s mission marked the 63rd rocket launch or missile test from Vandenberg during 2025.
“Each launch approved by the Vandenberg range is designated by the federal government to advance economic growth, bolster national security, and achieve national space objectives,” Vandenberg officials said.
At least two more liftoffs are planned from Vandenberg before the end of November.
The twice-delayed Transporter-15 mission is set to be next in line to launch from the West Coast. That Falcon 9 launch is aiming for Wednesday morning from Vandenberg.
The 57-minute launch window opens at 10:18 a.m. and closes at 11:15 a.m. to ensure the assortment of satellites gets placed where needed in space.