SpaceX Falcon 9 flies 116th 2026 mission as Starlink gaps hit 11 days

SpaceX has begun phasing out its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket in favor of its next-generation Starship, a transition now reflected in the company's launch schedule. The change was evident on October 23 when a Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver a new batch of internet satellites.

The rocket, which carried 27 Starlink Group 15-15 spacecraft, launched at 6:48 p.m. EDT from Pad 4E. This flight marks the 116th Falcon 9 mission of the year. Approximately 75% of the rocket's 2026 flights have been dedicated to Starlink deployments. The previous Starlink launch occurred 11 days earlier, extending a period where the gap between flights has stretched beyond the two to three-day intervals seen during the rocket's peak operational tempo.

The mission followed a standard profile. The first stage booster, designated B1063, separated from the upper stage 2.5 minutes after liftoff. The fairing jettisoned shortly before the three-minute mark. The booster reoriented for reentry and landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You about eight minutes after launch. This was the 36th landing for B1063, a booster that previously carried NASA's DART mission in November 2021. The upper stage is scheduled to perform a final burn 45 minutes after liftoff, with satellite deployment beginning 62 minutes after launch.

This flight adds to a Starlink constellation that now includes more than 11,000 active spacecraft. SpaceX is reducing Falcon 9 Starlink missions to make room for Starship, a fully reusable vehicle designed to carry larger Version 3 satellites that do not fit inside the Falcon 9 fairing. The company plans to phase out both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy almost entirely once Starship begins operational flights.

The shift is already visible in recent launch records. The 100th Falcon 9 launch of 2026, a Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral, was the final Starlink flight from Florida's Space Coast. Similar reductions are expected for West Coast launches. The cadence change means 2025, when the rocket completed 165 launches, is likely to remain its busiest year ever. At the current pace, Falcon 9 is projected to complete just under 150 launches by the end of 2026.