SpaceX launches back‑to‑back Starlink
SpaceX launched back‑to‑back Starlink missions from Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral on March 16, adding 54 satellites and recovering both boosters. The surge in cadence underscores rapid integration, high‑throughput operations, and continued demand for propulsion, GNC, and launch‑ops staffing at Hawthorne and other hubs.
The two Falcon 9 flights actually occurred on March 13 and March 14, 2026, launching from Space Launch Complex 4E (Vandenberg SFB) and SLC‑40 (Cape Canaveral SFS), respectively. (space.com) The west‑coast flight released 25 Starlink V2‑Mini satellites (Group 17‑31) and the east‑coast mission carried 29 satellites (Group 10‑48), a combined 54 new units added to the constellation. (space.com) Both first stages were recovered at sea: booster B1071 touched down on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” and booster B1095 landed on “Just Read the Instructions.” (space.com) Operational reuse details show B1095 flew its sixth mission on the Cape Canaveral sortie, according to its launch profile, while B1071’s vehicle record lists 31 previous flights before the Vandenberg launch. (spacelaunchnow.me) Satellite‑tracker Jonathan McDowell put the post‑launch active Starlink tally at about 9,985, and the two liftoffs were separated by roughly 20 hours and 40 minutes (Vandenberg ~7:57 a.m. PDT on March 13; Cape Canaveral 7:37 a.m. EDT on March 14). (space.com) Behind that cadence, SpaceX’s listings show continued hiring in Hawthorne for roles across propulsion and GNC on its careers site, and job‑aggregator Indeed displayed roughly 459 SpaceX‑role listings in Hawthorne as of March 2026. (spacex.com)
