Keneci Network @kenecifeed
SpaceX successfully executed a double-header Falcon 9 launch on Sunday (Oct 19), withion 2 hours, from Florida and California achieving multiple milestones across the two separate missions and deploying a total of 56 Starlink satellites for the company's internet megaconstellation.
The first launch, Starlink 10-17 (or Starlink-312) mission occurred at 1739 UTC from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex(SLC-40)A, with a Falcon 9 carrying 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites.
This flight marked a significant achievement as the Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1067 completed its 31st flight, setting a new record for the most flights by a single booster. The booster, which had previously flown on the Starlink 10-11 mission on August 28, 2025, successfully landed on the drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, marking the 129th landing on that vessel and the 520th overall landing for SpaceX.
About 64 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 upper stage deployed the 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit at an inclination of 53.°
The second launch of the day, Starlink 11-19 (or Starlink-313) mission, took place at 1924 UTC from Vandenberg Space Force Base's Space Launch Complex(SLC-4E), with a Falcon 9 carrying yet another batch of 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. This Falcon 9 booster B1088, which was launching for the 11th time, landed on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean.
This was also the 132nd Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, equaling the mark set by the rocket last year, with nearly 2.5 months still to go in 2025.
The Falcon 9 second stage deployed the 28 satellites into a 295 km orbit at a 53° inclination, about 1 hour after liftoff. Those 28 included the 10,000th Starlink spacecraft ever to reach orbit, which a SpaceX employee noted on the company's launch webcast: "From Tintin to 10,000! Go Starlink, go Falcon, go SpaceX!"
SpaceX launched its first two Starlink prototypes — known as Tintin A and Tintin B — to low Earth orbit (LEO) in February 2018, then began building the megaconstellation in earnest 15 months later. The company offered Starlink service for the first time with a public beta test in October 2020 and started a commercial rollout the next year.
Each Starlink satellite has an operational life of about five years, and 8,608 are reportedly currently operational. Others have been deorbited, guided down to burn up in Earth's atmosphere.