SpaceX added another 27 Starlink V2 Mini spacecraft to its broadband constellation with a Falcon 9 flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rocket left pad 4E at 6:47 p.m. PDT on Sept. 19 — 9:47 p.m. EDT, or 01:47 UTC on Sept. 20.
Spaceflight Now, which carried live coverage of the countdown, noted that the mission was the company's 81st Starlink launch so far this year, underscoring how routine the West Coast cadence from Vandenberg has become.
The V2 Mini design is the heavier, higher-capacity satellite variant SpaceX flies on Falcon 9, sized to fit the booster's fairing while delivering considerably more bandwidth per spacecraft than the original Starlink generation. Batches of roughly two dozen are typical for polar-leaning orbits reached from California.
Vandenberg handles the shells of the constellation that require steeper inclinations, complementing the Florida launch sites. Each flight of this size steadily replaces aging spacecraft and thickens coverage over higher latitudes.
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Spaceflight Now
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