Starlink 17-45 – SpaceX is counting down to a West Coast Falcon 9 launch that will place 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into orbit from Vandenberg on Wednesday evening, extending the pace of launches at Space Launch Complex 4E as the company continues to lean harder into its S
Two Falcon 9 boosters sat side by side at Space Launch Complex 4E on June 22, 2026—one poised for another Starlink flight, the other still bearing the marks of a recent return. The scene captured the rhythm SpaceX has been building on California’s launch pad: fast, frequent, and focused.
On Wednesday evening, SpaceX is counting down to a West Coast launch of another 24 satellites for its Starlink internet service. Liftoff for the Starlink 17-45 mission is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. PDT from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California (11:30 p.m. EDT / 0330 UTC). Live coverage is set to begin about 30 minutes prior to launch.
The mission calls for 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to be propelled on a south-southwesterly trajectory from Vandenberg atop Falcon 9 first stage B1081. marking its 25th flight. After liftoff. the booster is set to return to a landing on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ about 8.5 minutes after launch. Deployment of the satellites from the second stage is planned for just over an hour into flight.
This launch lands in a broader push to keep Vandenberg active in 2026. California has become the home for SpaceX’s workhorse launch pad this year. after the company decided to focus more on Starship operations at Cape Canaveral. Wednesday’s mission will be the seventh of eight launches SpaceX plans from Vandenberg in June. compared with six planned Florida launches this month.
SpaceX has two launch pads at Cape Canaveral. but it is launching Falcon 9 rockets only from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is dedicating Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for Falcon Heavy missions so construction of its first East Coast Starship facility at 39A can continue with fewer interruptions. SpaceX also announced in April that it was repurposing one of its two East Coast Falcon 9 droneships. ‘Just Read the Instructions’. for transporting Starship components from Starbase to Florida.
The cadence at Vandenberg has been striking. If the current schedule holds, SpaceX will have launched 40 missions from Vandenberg versus 37 from Cape Canaveral in the first half of 2026.
That tempo showed up in the turnaround for the pad at Space Launch Complex 4E. The launch of the Starlink 17-28 mission on June 21 set a new turnaround for the pad. occurring about 56 hours after the previous flight. So fast was the turnaround that the booster for the prior mission. NROL-179. which landed back at Vandenberg. was still visible at the landing zone.
With Starlink 17-45 on deck, SpaceX is again trying to keep its West Coast launch rhythm intact—while the company’s launch strategy continues to reshape around where it wants its next generation of rockets to take center stage.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink 17-45 Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4E Starlink V2 Mini B1081 Of Course I Still Love You NROL-179 turnaround 2026 launch cadence
24 sats again? like when do we run out of room up there…
So it launches from California but the booster lands on a ship, right? I swear they always say “another successful return” like that’s a guarantee lol.
Wait B1081 is doing its 25th flight?? I saw something that said it was brand new though so now I’m confused. Also 8:30 p.m. PDT… that’s like mid-night for me, why can’t they do this earlier.
Every time I hear Vandenberg I think it’s gonna be some big military thing. But it’s just Starlink mini sats, cool cool. Still, 7 out of 8 launches in June?? that seems like too much, like aren’t they gonna run into issues with reentry or whatever.