Vandenberg: SpaceX, the US space exploration technology company, launched 26 new Starlink satellites into space. The company said in a statement that the Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday evening, carrying the satellites into low-Earth orbit approximately 65 minutes after liftoff.
According to Qatar News Agency, the first stage of the rocket successfully returned to Earth approximately eight minutes later, landing vertically for the first time on a SpaceX offshore platform stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
The launch was the 56th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, and 39 of these flights are dedicated to building the Starlink constellation. Starlink has the largest constellation of satellites ever assembled, with approximately 7,100 active spacecraft currently in service.