Falcon 9 Family rocket variant.
Performance data not available.
A referenced EX-CN filing 0057-EX-CN-2026 dated January 17 included an Apolink payload planned to launch as a secondary payload aboard Falcon 9 Transporter-17 from Vandenberg AFB no earlier than June 1, 2026 into a circular 590 km × 590 km orbit at 98° inclination with transmission beginning 3 minutes after deploy and an estimated on-orbit life until de-orbiting about 7 years after mission end.
SpaceX web content about the Starlink 11-4 mission attributed the failure to perform the second stage deorbit burn to a small liquid oxygen leak that drove higher-than-expected vehicle body rates during the coast phase.
NOTAM and NGA notices established hazardous operation areas and launch windows for the MTG-S1 Falcon 9 launch with primary launch dates and daily windows from 21:03 UTC to 00:15 UTC on July 1–7, 2025.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, and eight Starlink missions.
SpaceX considers the Block 5 Falcon 9 to be designed for greater manufacturability compared with previous Falcon 9 versions.
ESA and the European Commission contracted SpaceX to launch science and navigation satellites on Falcon 9 because of Europe’s launcher shortfall.
The Space Force traded a GPS III mission from a Vulcan to a Falcon 9 and exchanged a later GPS IIIF mission from a Falcon Heavy to a Vulcan to retain mission flexibility.
The dedicated Astranis MicroGEO satellite will provide sovereign control for Oman.
Russia interfered with the Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Astranis purchased a dedicated Falcon 9 for its Block 3 mission a year before the announcement.
SpaceX and its Starlink constellation are identified as reshaping the economics and geopolitics of space access.
AST SpaceMobile’s mission is to enable 4G and 5G space-based cellular broadband for billions of people globally without requiring any changes to mobile devices.
AST SpaceMobile plans a multi-launcher campaign averaging one orbital launch every one to two months during 2026.
The next-generation BlueBird satellites are designed to be compatible with all major launch vehicles.
Pitch decks from that period depicted fleets of rockets landing on ocean barges, constellations deploying by the thousands, and rapid hockey-stick revenue growth.
On 17 January 2026 a Falcon 9 rocket launched the NROL-105 mission to orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E in California.
The 40-satellite constellation will be deployed over five launches.
Falcon 9 has become one of the reference launch vehicles for U.S. civil and military institutions.
Falcon 9 regularly operates from the California pad for missions for the NRO, NASA, and commercial satellite customers.
Launches from the California west coast, including the SLC-4E pad, support missions to polar and sun-synchronous orbits typically used for observation and reconnaissance satellites.