Starlink Group 17-29 Launch from Vandenberg — 24 Satellites Deployed; 609th Booster Landing; SpaceX's 56th Orbital Mission of 2026

SpaceX launched 24 Starlink V2 Mini broadband satellites from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:59:19 PM PDT on May 5 (03:59:19 UTC on May 6, 2026). The Falcon 9 booster executed a downrange landing on drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' (OCISLY) in the Pacific Ocean approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff — SpaceX's 609th cumulative booster recovery in history. The 24 satellites were deployed to sun-synchronous low Earth orbit as part of the Starlink Group 17 shell, continuing the constellation's polar coverage expansion. This was the 44th dedicated Starlink mission of 2026 and SpaceX's 56th total orbital launch of the year. Following deployment, the Starlink constellation stands at approximately 10,374 satellites in orbit (10,358 actively working) out of approximately 11,979 total launched since 2019, maintaining broadband service to over 10 million subscribers across 160 countries.