SpaceX Ends Falcon 9 Starlink Flights From Florida to Prioritize Starship - PCMag
SpaceX is shifting its Starlink launch operations from Florida to California for Falcon 9 rockets. Future Starlink missions from the East Coast will be exclusively handled by the heavy-lift Starship rocket.
Why it matters
This transition signals a major strategic pivot in SpaceX's launch cadence and infrastructure, prioritizing the operational deployment of the Starship vehicle.
<p>This morning's SpaceX rocket launch from Florida, carrying 29 Starlink satellites, was also a swan song. A VP revealed today that SpaceX is ending all Starlink-related Falcon 9 missions from Florida to instead focus on future flights using the heavy-lift Starship rocket.</p><p>The launch marks "the end of an era for these launches on the East Coast," <a href="https://x.com/TurkeyBeaver/status/2092267257179021326" target="_blank" title="(Opens in a new tab)">tweeted</a> Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX's VP of Launch. "From here on, Starlink missions out of Florida will fly on Starship."</p><p>That said, the company will continue flying Starlink missions using the reliable Falcon 9 rocket, but from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, which has cleared the way for an <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/air-force-oks-spacex-plan-to-double-number-of-launches-at-california-base" target="_self">increase in rocket launches</a>.
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