SpaceX is preparing to launch its next batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Saturday morning mission is carrying 27 second-generation Starlinks, a new record for this type of satellite.
Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) is scheduled for 7:35 a.m. PST (10:35 a.m. EST, 1535 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1082, will launch for a 10th time. SpaceX previously used it to fly USSF-62, OneWeb 4 and seven previous batches of Starlink satellites.
It is one of four boosters still in use that has only launched from the West Coast.
A little more than eight minutes into the mission, B1082 will target a landing on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ If successful, it will be the 117th booster landing on OCISLY and the 399th booster landing to date.
The Starlink 11-8 mission sends more second-generation satellites into orbit in one batch than previously possible. According to SpaceX’s 2024 Progress Report, the company said it created Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites. The company said they not only have new capabilities, but they are also lighter, and therefore, more can be launched at one time. SpaceX said that its newest version of the V2 Mini are 22 percent lighter than the original V2 Mini.
“These satellites have a new backhaul antenna powered by a SpaceX-designed and built dual band chip, called Doppio,” SpaceX wrote. “The satellites have upgraded avionics, propulsion, and power systems and are optimized for Falcon 9 to allow up to 29 satellites to launch on each mission – six more satellites per launch than the original V2 Mini design.”
From connecting astronauts in space, to providing high-speed internet to more than 4.6M active customers here on Earth, the @Starlink team is laser focused on expanding coverage, increasing speeds and lowering latency so we can connect as many as possible around the world pic.twitter.com/twBoSToUsK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 16, 2025
It’s unclear if SpaceX launched any of these new satellites prior to the Starlink 11-8 mission. Starting at the beginning of 2024, SpaceX was typically launching 23 Starlink satellites from Florida and 22 from Vandenberg, that is when the satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities weren’t onboard.
The Starlink 6-39 mission, which launched on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 25, 2024, was the first to feature 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, but there was no mention of any of them being optimized.
It wan’t until Nov. 11, 2024, when another batch of 24 satellites launched, which once again, took place at Cape Canaveral. Since then, there were six more missions that featured 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites each.
