The mission, designated Starlink 17-20, deployed the satellites into a polar low Earth orbit, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The Falcon 9 rocket followed a southerly trajectory after lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Liftoff took place from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time / 1730 UTC).
Orbital launch no. 19 of 2026 🇺🇸🚀25⭐️🔗🛰️
— Space Intelligence (@SpaceIntel101) January 25, 2026
Starlink 17-20 | SpaceX | January 25 | 1644 UTC@SpaceX successfully launched 25 v2.0 @Starlink Mini🛰️ on its Falcon 9🚀 to LEO (Low Earth Orbit) from @SLDelta30 SLC-4E, California. pic.twitter.com/QDFPduMfJd
SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1097. This was its sixth flight after launching Sentinel-6B, the Twilight ride share and three batches of Starlink satellites.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1097 landed on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This was the 173rd landing on this vessel and the 563rd booster landing for SpaceX to date.
