SpaceX began March with two Falcon 9 missions on Sunday, March 1st, lifting off from opposite coasts.
Both flights were dedicated to the Starlink program and deployed a combined 54 new satellites into low Earth orbit.
West Coast Liftoff
At 2:10 a.m. PT, a Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying 25 Starlink satellites.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 1, 2026
The mission, designated Starlink 17-23, marked the first stage’s 20th successful flight; the booster previously launched USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20, NROL-145, and 16 other Starlink missions.
After stage separation, the booster landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean (15:45 mark in the video), and the 25 satellites deployed a little over an hour after liftoff.
East Coast Follow-Up
A few hours later, another Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Its first-stage booster was on its 26th flight, with prior missions including Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-B, USSF-124, Bluebird 1-5, Nusantara Lima (PSN N5), and 20 previous Starlink batches.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 17, 2026
Like the West Coast mission, the 26-flight veteran separated and landed successfully (15:50 in the video), touching down on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. The second stage then deployed 29 Starlink satellites into the target orbit.
Setting the Bar
The back-to-back launches highlight the company’s aim to make orbital missions function more like commercial airline operations.
By sustaining a high cadence across multiple active pads, the Starlink network can expand rapidly while launch costs are reduced through reliable booster reuse.
With dozens more launches planned for 2026, more coast-to-coast doubleheaders are expected as the year progresses.
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