SpaceX Launches 100th Mission of 2026, Passes 11,000 Satellites in Orbit

SpaceX launched the Starlink Group 17-50 mission at 04:01 UTC on August 19, 2026 (9:01 p.m. PDT August 18) from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, deploying 24 V2-Mini Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1097 flew its 12th mission (following Twilight, Transporter-17, Sentinel-6B, NROL-172, and seven earlier Starlink batches) and landed on the droneship 'Of Course I Still Love You' in the Pacific — its 219th landing. The flight marked SpaceX's 97th Falcon 9/Heavy launch of 2026 and was widely reported as the company's 100th mission of the year overall (a tally that also counts Starship integrated flight tests), pushing the Starlink constellation to roughly 11,000 satellites in orbit (about 10,979 in orbit, ~10,963 operational). SpaceX flew 138 total missions in 2024 and 167 in 2025; 2026 remains on pace to exceed both.