Updated
Updated · Spaceflight Now · Jul 1
SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites, Lands Falcon 9 for 632nd Booster Recovery
Updated
Updated · Spaceflight Now · Jul 1

SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites, Lands Falcon 9 for 632nd Booster Recovery

3 articles · Updated · Spaceflight Now · Jul 1

Summary

  • Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 0257 UTC on the Starlink 17-46 mission, adding 24 broadband satellites to SpaceX's low-Earth-orbit network.
  • B1100 completed its seventh flight and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You a little more than eight minutes after launch.
  • That recovery marked the 207th landing on that vessel and SpaceX's 632nd booster landing overall.
  • The new batch expands a Starlink constellation that now exceeds 10,700 satellites after SpaceX launched nearly 1,600 during the first half of 2026.

Insights

Can on-orbit servicing prevent satellite mega-constellations from becoming their own worst enemy?
As thousands of satellites create an orbital minefield, is a catastrophic space collision now inevitable?
Who will profit from the high-stakes business of cleaning up our increasingly crowded orbital highways?