Falcon 9 launches 25 Starlink v2.0 Minis

SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites from California on Tuesday night, adding 24 spacecraft to its low-Earth-orbit broadband network. Liftoff took place at 7:46 p.m. PDT on May 19 from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base, according to Spaceflight Now and SpaceX. The mission was identified as Starlink 17-42. The launch and mission details do not match social-media claims that a Falcon 9 carried 25 Starlink v2.0 Mini satellites on May 20. ### Which launch actually happened? SpaceX’s own launch page said the Falcon 9 mission was targeting 24 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg, not 25. Spaceflight Now reported after launch that the mission added “another 24 broadband internet satellites” to the constellation. May 19 is the launch date listed by SpaceX in its completed-missions archive, while Spaceflight Now said the rocket lifted off at 7:46 p.m. (spaceflightnow.com) Pacific time on Tuesday, May 19, which was 0246 UTC on May 20. That time-zone split appears to be the source of some confusion in social posts describing the launch as a May 20 mission. ### How many satellites were on board? The payload count for this mission was 24 satellites, according to both SpaceX and Spaceflight Now. (spacex.com) SpaceX’s mission page described the launch as carrying 24 Starlink satellites, and its published flight timeline showed satellite deployment at about 59 minutes and 48 seconds after liftoff. A separate pattern in recent Vandenberg missions may have added to the confusion. (spacex.com) SpaceX launched 25 Starlink V2 Mini satellites from the same California pad on April 26, and another 25-satellite Vandenberg Starlink mission flew in February, according to Spaceflight Now and Next Spaceflight. (spacex.com) ### What happened with the booster? Booster B1103 flew the mission, and Spaceflight Now said it was making its second launch after previously flying the Starlink 17-35 mission on April 6. The publication said the booster had earlier been assigned to the NROL-172 mission before being swapped out for another first stage. (spaceflightnow.com) A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1103 landed on the drone ship *Of Course I Still Love You* in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX’s mission profile had said before launch that the first stage would attempt a droneship landing after separation. ### What kind of Starlink satellites were these? (spaceflightnow.com) SpaceX described the payload only as 24 Starlink satellites on its mission page. Spaceflight Now called them broadband internet satellites and reported that the wider Starlink constellation now consists of more than 10,000 spacecraft, with more than 600 supporting direct-to-device capabilities. The specific claim that this launch carried 25 “Starlink v2.0 Minis” could not be verified from SpaceX’s mission page for the May 19 California launch. (spaceflightnow.com) SpaceX did use that V2 Mini terminology for earlier Vandenberg Starlink missions carrying 25 satellites, including the April 26 flight reported by Spaceflight Now. (spacex.com) ### What comes next on SpaceX’s schedule? SpaceX’s launches page listed another Falcon 9 Starlink mission from Florida on May 21, 2026, followed later the same day by Starship’s twelfth flight test from Starbase, Texas. The company also listed another Starlink mission from Vandenberg on May 23. (spacex.com) (spaceflightnow.com)