SpaceX Launches 28 New Starlink Satellites as Falcon 9 Hits Another Milestone

On​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Thursday, 4 December 2025, SpaceX sent up 28 Starlink satellites to orbit at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The Falcon 9 rocket launched at 12:42 pm Pacific Standard Time (20:42 GMT) and its first stage was recovered at 8.5 minutes after liftoff, landing on the drone ship called Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. The booster was on its fourth flight. This was the 156th Falcon 9 mission of the year 2025 by ​‍​‌‍​‍‌​‍​‌‍​‍‌SpaceX.

Launch details

According to the U.S. Space Force, the Starlink 11-25 mission “deployed 28 satellites supporting SpaceX's global broadband constellation”. These were carried by the Falcon 9's upper stage to low Earth orbit, where they will be released roughly an hour after launch. The reusable first stage returned 8.5 minutes after liftoff, landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You – its fourth flight – demonstrating the booster's reusability.

Starlink constellation and goals

Starlink is a SpaceX endeavour to offer low-cost broadband internationally, particularly to distant and underserved regions. There are now thousands of satellites in the constellation - it has already launched approximately 9,000 satellites into orbit, and SpaceX is authorised to launch tens of thousands more (up to an estimated 42,000).

It is hoped that it can shoot internet with high speed across the globe, though some astronomers are worried that the trained satellites can be observed in the sky, and will pose a threat of collisions in space.