Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, ended its series of Starlink satellite launches from Florida on August 25, 2026. The company sent 29 satellites into low-Earth orbit using a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This launch marked the final planned Falcon 9 mission for Starlink from the East Coast of the United States.
The booster used in this mission had completed 37 flights previously and returned to Port Canaveral after the launch, according to Yahoo News. SpaceX teams will refurbish the booster before sending it back to Kennedy Space Center for further use.
Brevard County residents had grown accustomed to regular Falcon 9 launches over recent years, mostly carrying Starlink internet satellites. After this mission, all future Starlink launches from Florida will be conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The company stated that the move does not mean the Falcon 9 rocket is retiring from service. Falcon 9 will still be used for other missions, including NASA’s upcoming Crew-13 flight in September.
SpaceX is now shifting its focus to the Starship rocket, which is currently undergoing test flights from Starbase in Texas. In a recent test flight on July 24, Flight 13, Starship deployed 20 Starlink V3 satellites as part of a demonstration. SpaceX successfully acquired signals from these satellites before they burned up in the atmosphere.
The company plans to land Starship fully into orbit and back at a launch tower in upcoming missions. Elon Musk has expressed confidence in the future of the Starbase site in Louisiana as part of his long-term expansion goals, according to a report from Yahoo Finance. Musk also discussed ambitious projects including a Von Neumann probe and plans for one million Optimus units and solar power generation.
SpaceX is targeting 10,000 launches annually with the Starship rocket by the end of the decade. The Falcon 9 booster that launched this final batch of satellites lifted off at 5:33 a.m. on August 25, 2026, from Cape Canaveral, Yahoo News reported. Viewers from the beach at Minutemen Causeway and other locations in Viera witnessed the launch.
The exhaust plume from the rocket took the shape of a bird after liftoff. This launch was part of a broader transition by SpaceX as it prepares for more advanced orbital missions with its Starship system.
IMAGE: A SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket is rolled out to Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 on April 26, 2015, in advance of the April 27 launch attempt for the TurkmenÄlem52E/MonacoSAT telecommunications satellite.. Photo: SpaceX / Wikimedia, taken 2015-04-26, CC0