SpaceX launches 500th Starlink satellite in 2026 during Wednesday Falcon 9 flight

SpaceX launched its 500th Starlink satellite of the year during a flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday morning. The Starlink 17-26 mission added 25 broadband satellites to the growing constellation that’s nearing 10,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit. SpaceX confirmed a successful payload deployment an hour after liftoff. With this launch, SpaceX has flown 512 Starlink satellites to orbit in 2026. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 26)