A Falcon 9 rocket blasts off Thursday afternoon at Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver 28 Starlink satellites into orbit.
A Falcon 9 rocket blasts off Thursday afternoon at Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. Credit: SpaceX photo

After a brief break to make way for a missile test earlier this week, a Falcon 9 rocket launched Thursday afternoon from Vandenberg Space Force Base. 

The rocket, built by SpaceX, lifted off at 1:13 p.m. from Space Launch Complex-4, marking the 61st launch from Vandenberg during 2025. All but six of the launches involved Falcon rockets.

Vandenberg’s 60th liftoff of 2025 was a Minuteman III missile test launch for the Air Force early Wednesday morning.

Some eight minutes after leaving Vandenberg, the Falcon rocket’s first-stage booster successfully landed on the droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean. 

A view of the Falcon 9 rocket launch seen from Goleta Thursday afternoon.
A view of the Falcon 9 rocket launch seen from Goleta Thursday afternoon. Credit: Frank DiMarco photo
A Falcon 9 rocket blasts off Thursday afternoon at Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver 28 Starlink satellites into orbit.
A Falcon 9 rocket blasts off Thursday afternoon at Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. Credit: SpaceX photo

Approximately an hour after departing from Vandenberg, the rocket deployed the 28 Starlink satellites as planned, SpaceX confirmed.

“With today’s launch, @SpaceX has hit 170 launches on a rolling 365 day clock,” SpaceX’s Kiko Dontchev said on X. 

That tally includes launches from Florida and Texas in addition to Vandenberg.

“This is made possible by a hardcore focus on safety and reliability,” he added. 

Another SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch is planned for late morning Tuesday from Vandenberg to deliver the Transporter-15 mission, an assortment of small satellites designed for various purposes sharing the ride into orbit.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.