SpaceX is set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday morning with its 75th batch of Starlink satellites of the year — and a milestone tucked inside the payload fairing. The Starlink 10-39 mission will carry 29 broadband internet satellites to low Earth orbit, including the 2,000th Starlink satellite launched so far in 2026.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 is scheduled for 11:38 a.m. EDT. Weather looks reasonable at the start of the window, with the 45th Weather Squadron forecasting an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions early on. That figure drops to 40 percent later in the window, as showers and storms tracking east along Florida's west coast sea breeze could complicate things depending on timing.
The mission will fly on Falcon 9 booster B1078, which is making its 30th flight — a milestone only five other boosters have reached. About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the booster is expected to touch down on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed in the Atlantic off South Carolina. A successful landing would be the 164th for that vessel and the 652nd Falcon booster recovery overall for SpaceX.
This launch comes just days after SpaceX announced its constellation has surpassed 11,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, underscoring the relentless pace of Starlink expansion out of Florida's Space Coast. Spaceflight Now will carry live coverage beginning approximately one hour before liftoff.
This report is based on coverage from Spaceflight Now.
