The Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing Thursday at Vandenberg Space Force Base included heat shield tiles for an apparent test of the component used on the SpaceX Starship vehicle. The rocket successfully delivered 25 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing Thursday at Vandenberg Space Force Base included heat shield tiles for an apparent test of the component used on the SpaceX Starship vehicle. The rocket successfully delivered 25 Starlink satellites into orbit. Credit: Screenshot via SpaceX

For the second mission in a row, a Falcon 9 rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base to deliver Starlink satellites also appears to have acted as a testbed of Starship heat shield tiles. 

The SpaceX rocket blasted off at 9:53 a.m. Thursday from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base. 

Close-up camera angles revealed heat shield tiles believed to be used for the firm’s behemoth Starship rocket. 

A similar sighting occurred on the previous Falcon rocket that launched from Vandenberg on Sunday. 

SpaceX retrieves the two halves of the payload fairing, or nose cone, which allows workers to assess how the tiles handled the ascent and return.

Starship so far has only launched from Texas, but plans are in the works for future Florida liftoffs and possibly Vandenberg.

This was the 19th launch and landing for first-stage booster used for the mission. After completing its chores, the booster landed on the droneship in the Pacific Ocean.

The 25 Starlink satellites separated from the rocket’s second-stage about an hour after departing Santa Barbara County.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Thursday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base en route to placing 25 Starlink satellites into orbit. In a secondary mission, the rocket apparently carried Starship thermal protection tiles on the nose cone to help SpaceX crews gather information.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Thursday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base en route to placing 25 Starlink satellites into orbit. In a secondary mission, the rocket apparently carried Starship thermal protection tiles on the nose cone to help SpaceX crews gather information. Credit: Nora Wallace photo

Thursday’s launch pushed the number of Starlink satellites above 11,000, although the number still in orbit remains lower due to failure and retirement of older craft.

The constellation’s total launch hit the 10,000 milestone in October, also involving a Vandenberg launch.

Starlink satellites, with the first launched in 2019 from the East Coast, travel from both Florida and California. Vandenberg began seeing Starlink satellites in 2021.

SpaceX conducted six launches so far this year from the West Coast.

Vandenberg’s next SpaceX rocket launch will aim for Monday morning. The liftoff is planned for between 7:17 a.m. and 11:17 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base. 

That mission will employ a first-stage booster that already has launched and landed 30 other times.

— 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.