SpaceX confirmed that its Starlink constellation now has more than 10,000 satellites in low Earth orbit simultaneously, a milestone achieved just under seven years after launching its first batch in May 2019. The achievement came during the Starlink Group 17-24 mission, which lifted 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:19:09 p.m. PDT on March 17. The launch coincided with the 100th anniversary of Robert Goddard’s first liquid-fueled rocket test in 1926. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket used booster B1088, which had flown 14 times before, including nine previous Starlink missions and launches for NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office. The booster landed on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love’ in the Pacific Ocean, marking the 586th SpaceX booster landing overall. The satellites deployed about 65 minutes after liftoff. SpaceX has averaged a Starlink launch every 2.3 days in 2026, with 26 of its 33 Falcon 9 launches this year dedicated to the constellation. The company’s rapid expansion has positioned it as the largest satellite operator in low Earth orbit. The mission was the 17th orbital launch from Vandenberg this year and the 615th flight of the Falcon 9’s kerosene-fueled first stage. SpaceX’s Starlink network now includes over 10,000 active satellites, with more launches planned to expand global broadband coverage.