SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 24 Starlink Satellites from Vandenberg

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SpaceX grew its Starlink network by 24 more satellites on Wednesday evening (July 1) with a launch from California.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the two dozen new relay spacecraft ( Group 17-46 ) lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:58 p.m. EDT (0258 GMT on July 2 or 7:58 p.m. PDT local time). About an hour later, SpaceX confirmed the satellites were successfully deployed in low Earth orbit.

Previous Booster B1100 launches

NROL-105 | 5 Starlink missions

The Falcon 9's first stage (Booster 1100) completed its seventh flight to space and back, landing on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" positioned in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX's Starlink megaconstellation now totals more than 10,700 active satellites, according to tracker Jonathan McDowell . The service supports connectively around the globe, as well as in-flight and direct-to-cell services.

Wednesday's launch was SpaceX's 79th Falcon 9 launch of the year.