SpaceX is set to launch 25 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday night, sending its 40th Starlink mission of the year into orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 8:23:09 p.m. PDT, with the Falcon 9 headed south-southwesterly after leaving the pad.
The mission, known as Starlink 17-14, will add 25 broadband internet satellites to a constellation that already includes more than 10,200 spacecraft. Spaceflight Now said it will begin live coverage about 30 minutes before launch, which works out to 7:53:09 p.m. PDT, or 11:53:09 p.m. EDT.
SpaceX will fly the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1100, making its fifth trip to space. B1100 has previously flown on NROL-105 and three other Starlink launches, a reminder of how often the company is reusing hardware to keep pace with its deployment schedule.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the booster is set to land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. If the landing succeeds, it will be the 192nd booster recovery on that vessel and the 602nd booster landing to date for SpaceX.
That is the real story of Wednesday night’s vandenberg launch schedule: another routine Starlink mission on paper, but one that also pushes SpaceX deeper into a cadence that now depends on both rapid satellite deployment and repeated booster reuse. The company has not just kept the line moving; it has turned the line into the point.