SpaceX Marks 700th Falcon Rocket Launch, Completes SES O3b mPOWER Constellation

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral at 18:49 UTC (2:49 p.m. EDT) on September 13, 2026, carrying the final three Boeing-built O3b mPOWER satellites (F11, F12, F13; ~1,900 kg dry mass each) for SES, completing the operator's 13-satellite medium-Earth-orbit broadband constellation — the first time three of the satellites launched together on one rocket. Deployment occurred in a staggered sequence starting roughly 33.5 minutes after liftoff at an altitude of about 5,000 miles, spread over a 14-minute span. The mission was the 700th Falcon-family rocket launch in company history (687 Falcon 9 plus 13 Falcon Heavy) and the 400th orbital launch from SLC-40 overall (345 of them SpaceX's). Booster B1080 flew its 29th mission — after four ISS cargo runs, ESA's Euclid observatory, SES's Astra 1P, and 22 Starlink batches — and landed on the droneship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' in the Atlantic, its 166th landing on that vessel and the 661st successful Falcon booster landing overall. The final trio of O3b mPOWER satellites are expected to enter operational service by mid-2027.