Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday night, deploying a new group of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

The mission, identified as Starlink 17-42, placed 24 additional broadband internet satellites into a growing network of spacecraft that now exceeds 10,000 in total. More than 600 of these satellites are designed to enable direct-to-device connectivity.

Lift-off occurred from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 7:46 p.m. PDT (10:46 p.m. EDT / 0246 UTC). After leaving the pad, the rocket followed a south-southwesterly flight path.

The launch used a Falcon 9 first stage booster designated B1103. It marked the booster’s second mission, following its earlier role on the Starlink 17-35 launch on April 6.

The booster had previously been assigned to the NROL-172 mission, but was replaced by B1097 before the launch. No explanation for the change was provided.

About eight minutes after launch, the booster successfully landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.” This marked the 197th landing on that vessel and the 612th booster landing overall.

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