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SpaceX gears up for Another Starlink Deployment Amidst Program’s Recent Fluctuations
SpaceX is poised for another launch of its Starlink internet constellation, with favorable weather conditions anticipated for the upcoming mission. The 45th Weather Squadron has projected a 95% likelihood of clear skies for the launch window, with only a minimal chance of isolated cumulus clouds appearing near the launch pad over the weekend.
The Falcon 9 rocket designated for this mission, bearing the tail number B1078, is no stranger to spaceflight, marking its 22nd launch. This veteran booster has previously supported missions such as Crew-6, USSF-124, and seventeen prior Starlink satellite deployments. Following liftoff, the first stage is expected to execute a landing on the autonomous vessel ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ approximately eight minutes after launch. Shoudl this landing prove successful, it will represent the 119th touchdown for this particular drone ship and the 480th booster landing in SpaceX’s operational history.
Starlink’s Week of Milestones and Setbacks
The Starlink program has experienced a dynamic week, marked by meaningful achievements alongside a temporary service disruption. on Saturday, July 19th, a Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered 24 Starlink satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This launch propelled the Starlink constellation to surpass the 8,000-satellite milestone in orbit for the first time.
Following this success, on wednesday, July 23rd, American mobile carrier T-Mobile announced the full implementation of its “T-Satellite” service. This initiative brings direct-to-cell capabilities to cellular users across the United States. T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert confirmed via social media that the service is also accessible to customers of Verizon and AT&T.
However, the week took an unexpected turn on Thursday, July 24th, when Starlink users globally encountered a rare, comprehensive network outage. The service disruption began around 4 p.m. EDT (2000 UTC).SpaceX founder Elon Musk addressed the issue on his social media platform, X, offering an apology and vowing to rectify the underlying cause to prevent future occurrences.
Approximately two and a half hours after Musk’s statement, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s Vice President of Starlink Engineering, provided an update on X, indicating that the network had “mostly recovered from the network outage.” He attributed the disruption to the failure of critical internal software services managing the core network, reiterating the company’s commitment to reliability and promising a thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
About an hour and a half later, the official starlink X account confirmed that the issue had been resolved and service restored, acknowledging the importance of connectivity and apologizing for the inconvenience.
The initial deployment of 60 operational Starlink satellites took place in May 2019 from Cape Canaveral. Since than, SpaceX has conducted over 280 launches dedicated to expanding the Starlink network. Public beta testing of Starlink commenced in the United States in 2020, and the service has since expanded its reach to 115 countries, with Sri Lanka and Chad being the most recent additions in July 2025.
