Overview
- The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral early Tuesday, Aug. 25, carrying 29 Starlink satellites and marking SpaceX’s 100th Falcon 9 launch of 2026.
- First-stage booster B1067 completed a record 37th mission and landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about eight and a half minutes after liftoff.
- SpaceX vice president of launch operations Kiko Dontchev said this flight was the last planned Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Florida and that future East Coast Starlink missions will fly on Starship while Vandenberg continues West Coast Falcon 9 launches.
- Starship remains in testing and is not yet a drop-in replacement, with company statements and reporting pointing to near-term orbital attempts and a need to prove reliable flight cadence before the operational shift.
- The move will require new ground infrastructure, regulatory approvals and local access controls and could change launch schedules and community impacts while SpaceX continues to expand its more than 11,000-satellite Starlink constellation.