SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on stunning sunset Falcon 9 flight (video)

A rocket launches with the sunset over the sea behind it.

SpaceX expanded its low Earth orbit megaconstellation on Tuesday (May 19), adding 24 more Starlink satellites on a successful launch from California.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT on May 20 or 7:46 p.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California. The Starlink satellites (Group 17-42), still mounted in the rocket's upper stage, reached a preliminary orbit about 8 minutes and 40 seconds after their launch.

The two-dozen internet high-bandwidth relay units were on track to be deployed about 50 minutes later.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Previous Booster B1103 launches

1 Starlink mission

The Falcon 9 rocket, booster 1103, completed its first reuse (second flight) by landing on the Pacific Ocean-based droneship, "Of Course I Still Love You."

Tuesday's launch brought the Starlink satellite network to just under 10,500 working units, according to tracker Jonathan McDowell.

A long exposure photograph of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The launch was SpaceX's 58th mission of the year, and the company's 651st successful launch since 2010.