SpaceX launch from California targets 100th flight of 2026
SpaceX launch of 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 9:01 p.m. PDT Tuesday after a delay. The Starlink 17-50 flight would be the company's 100th mission of 2026 and the 97th Falcon 9 launch this year, adding to a constellation of nearly 11,000 satellites.
Key Takeaways
- Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is set for 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT) after SpaceX pushed the time back, according to Spaceflight Now.
- The Falcon 9 will loft 24 Starlink broadband satellites on the Starlink 17-50 mission.
- Booster B1097 is making its 12th flight and is due to land on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
- If it flies as planned, the mission is SpaceX's 100th of 2026 and its 97th Falcon 9 launch of the year.
- Starlink already accounts for 73 of this year's SpaceX launches, with nearly 11,000 operational satellites in orbit.
When is the SpaceX launch scheduled to lift off?
According to Space.com, SpaceX had targeted a four-hour window from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday, Aug. 18, opening at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT, or 0200 GMT on Aug. 19). Spaceflight Now later reported that SpaceX pushed back the launch time.
The new target is 9:01 p.m. PDT (12:01 a.m. EDT / 0401 UTC). The rocket is due to fly on a south-southwesterly trajectory from Space Launch Complex 4 East.
Spaceflight Now said it would begin live coverage about 30 minutes before liftoff. Space.com reported that viewers can also watch via SpaceX's website, starting about 10 minutes before launch.
What will tonight's Falcon 9 carry and recover?
The Starlink 17-50 mission will deploy 24 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Space.com said the Falcon 9 upper stage is expected to release them 61.5 minutes after liftoff.
The first stage is booster B1097, flying for the 12th time. Spaceflight Now listed its prior work as the Twilight and Transporter-17 rideshare missions, Sentinel-6B, NROL-172, and seven earlier Starlink batches.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1097 is slated to land on the Pacific droneship Of Course I Still Love You. Space.com timed that landing at about 8.5 minutes into flight. Spaceflight Now said a success would be the 219th landing on that vessel and the 651st Falcon booster landing to date. Space.com noted that B1097 previously performed SpaceX's 600th orbital-rocket landing during a Starlink flight in April.
Why does this 100th SpaceX mission of 2026 matter?
Space.com reported that this would be SpaceX's 100th mission of 2026 overall and the 97th Falcon 9 launch of the year, marking the third consecutive year the company has reached a century of flights.
Most of the 2026 manifest has been Starlink: 73 launches so far, feeding a megaconstellation of nearly 11,000 operational satellites, Space.com said. Spaceflight Now put the in-orbit total at around 11,000.
Only three 2026 missions were not Falcon 9 flights: one Falcon Heavy launch and two suborbital Starship tests, according to Space.com. The company first topped 100 launches in 2024 with 138 missions, then flew 170 times in 2025.
The cadence is already extreme. Yahoo Finance reported that SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets 38 minutes apart over the weekend, one carrying a GSAT payload and the other flying for the U.S. Space Force. Follow more celebrity breaking news on BlasterPost.
CEO Elon Musk has said SpaceX wants Starship to fly multiple times per day and eventually reach about 1,000 launches a year, phasing out Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, Space.com reported.