In a typical foggy night at Vandenberg Space Force Base, SpaceX successfully launched its 400th Falcon 9 rocket on an orbital flight, marking a significant milestone. The Starlink 9-13 mission also celebrated SpaceX’s 100th launch from the West Coast.
The rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 9:25:30 p.m. PST (12:25:30 a.m. EST, 0525:30 UTC). While SpaceX did not publicly share the target T-0 before launch, CelesTrak reported the time from SpaceX's announcement.
For the first time, SpaceX chose not to stream the launch or booster landing live. Unlike previous missions, no statement or launch viewing information was provided via SpaceX's X (formerly Twitter) account.
However, just two minutes after liftoff, at 12:27 a.m. EST (0527 UTC), SpaceX unexpectedly began streaming onboard views from the Falcon 9 rocket. Elon Musk also shared the livestream link shortly thereafter.
The mission carried 20 V2 Mini Starlink satellites, with 13 featuring Direct to Cell technology. The satellites were deployed about an hour after launch.
The Falcon 9 booster, tail number B1075, successfully completed its 15th flight. It had previously supported launches such as Transporter-11, SDA-0A, SARah-2, and 11 Starlink missions.
Around eight minutes post-launch, B1075 landed on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," marking the 110th booster landing on OCISLY and the 373rd overall in SpaceX's history.