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SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg
Space.com reported a Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:25 a.m. EDT on Oct. 27, 2026, delivering 27 Starlink Group 15-16 satellites and landing booster B1082 at sea.
SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit early Tuesday from California, Space.com reported, citing a Falcon 9 liftoff at 3:25 a.m. EDT on Oct. 27 from Pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base1.
The mission, identified as Starlink Group 15-16, included a first-stage landing on SpaceX's Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean1. Space.com said booster B1082 separated about 2.5 minutes after liftoff and touched down at T+8:231.
Space.com said the landing was B1082's 26th flight overall and its 21st Starlink mission1. Earlier flights listed by the outlet included USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20, NROL-145 and Transporter-181.
According to Space.com, the upper stage fired a second time about 53 minutes after liftoff in a three-second burn to circularize the orbit, then deployed the satellites several minutes later1.
Space.com said Starlink consists of more than 11,000 active spacecraft and that the company has been delivering them to orbit more slowly than before1. Tuesday's flight was the 117th Falcon 9 launch of 2026, the outlet said, with about three-quarters of those dedicated to Starlink1.
The outlet said SpaceX has begun plans to retire Falcon 9 as it shifts focus to Starship and ended Starlink launches from Florida earlier this year1. Space.com's account is the only source in this filing; SpaceX's own webcast timing and payload counts were not independently checked here1.
