SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars through the clouds above Florida’s Space Coast during the Starlink 12-7 mission. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now

Update 5:42 p.m. EST (2242 UTC): SpaceX updated the T-0 launch time.

SpaceX sent its latest batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit Monday late afternoon. Among the 21 V2 Mini satellites were 13 that feature Direct to Cell capabilities.

Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 12-7 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 5:05 p.m. EST (2205 UTC).



The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a pretty idyllic outlook for the launch window, predicting a 95 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff. It cited “a small chance of a Cumulus Cloud Rule violation.”

The Falcon 9 first stage booster being used on this mission, tail number B1076 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for a 20th time. It’s previous flights included CRS-26, Intelsat IS-40e and 10 Starlink missions.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, it landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ marking the 96th landing on ASOG and the 402nd booster landing to date.

SpaceX is hoping to start 2025 with a high launch tempo, even with its workhorse pad, Space Launch Complex 40, being out of the loop since Jan. 13. Starlink 12-7 will the company’s 12th launch of the month and it has as many as two more on the manifest before the end of January:

Jan. 29 – SpainSat NG-1 Jan. 30 – Starlink 11-4

Comparing this to previous years, SpaceX launched 10 times in January 2024 and seven times in January 2023. Its most voluminous launch month last year was November, during which it launched 16 times with its Falcon rockets.

All told, SpaceX launched 134 orbital missions in 2024, including two Falcon Heavy flights. According to a graph published in its 2024 Progress Report, SpaceX suggests it is aiming for somewhere between 160 and 180 launches in 2025 between its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. That would necessitate a launch rate of between about 13 to 15 launches per month throughout the year.