Updated at 5:02 PM ET (2202 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of 25 Starlink satellites.

Updated at 12:10 PM ET (17:10 UTC): SpaceX has delayed T-0’s launch time until the end of the window.

Updated 11:23 a.m. ET (1623 UTC): Added additional comment from SpaceX.

Updated at 10:45 a.m. ET (1545 UTC): SpaceX has postponed the T-0 launch time. Added comment from NASA.

After a brief hiatus of less than a week, SpaceX resumed its Falcon 9 rocket flight missions with a launch Saturday afternoon.

The Starlink 17-33 mission will add 25 Starlink satellites to the company’s mega-constellation in low Earth orbit. There are currently more than 9,600 satellites in orbit, according to statistics maintained by astronomer and orbit tracking expert Jonathan McDowell.

The launch from Pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) took place on Saturday, February 7 at 12:58:09 PM PT (3:58:09 PM ET / 20:58:09 UTC). The rocket flew in a south-southwest trajectory.



SpaceX launched the Starlink 17-33 mission using a Falcon 9 first stage booster with tail number 1088. This was the 13th flight, following the launch of missions such as NASA’s SPHEREx, Transporter-12, and two batches of satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office’s Proliferated Architecture satellite constellation.

Approximately eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1088 landed on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” located in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 176th landing on the ship and the 568th booster landing for SpaceX to date.

return to flight

SpaceX is returning to its normal launch pace after a rare quiet period and some mission delays.

The company originally planned to launch the Starlink 17-32 mission from VSFB on Monday, February 2, followed by the Starlink 6-103 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on Tuesday, February 3.

However, late Monday, SpaceX announced that an anomaly occurred during the flight after payload deployment.

“During today’s launch, the second stage entered an out-of-spec condition while preparing for a deorbit burn,” SpaceX said in a Feb. 2 statement. “The vehicle then operated as designed and successfully passivated the stage. The first two MVac burns were normal, and all 25 Starlink satellites safely deployed to their intended orbits.”

SpaceX returned the Starlink satellite for the Starlink 6-103 mission from Pad 40 to the Hangar X facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center while NASA conducted refueling tests for its Space Launch System rocket. A few hours later, the booster with tail number 1101 was sent to the pad in preparation for Crew-12’s launch scheduled for next week.

On Friday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the conclusion of the SpaceX-led accident investigation, allowing SpaceX to resume FAA-approved flights.

“The FAA has overseen and accepted the findings of the SpaceX-led investigation. The final accident report identifies the probable root cause as failure of Falcon 9’s Stage 2 engine to ignite prior to deorbit burn,” the FAA said in a statement. “SpaceX has identified technical and organizational precautions to avoid a recurrence of the incident. The Falcon 9 aircraft has been cleared to return to flight.”

Following the arrival of the Crew 12 quartet at KSC on Friday night, NASA issued a statement assessing the incident and noting whether it would impact human flights to the International Space Station.

“As part of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review, NASA evaluated the findings from SpaceX’s review of the Starlink mission in which the Falcon 9 second stage experienced an issue while preparing for deorbit,” NASA wrote. “NASA and SpaceX have determined that there is no increased risk to crew safety during ascent because Falcon 9’s second stage flies with a different deorbit profile than NASA’s crewed missions. NASA and SpaceX are ‘in favor’ of launching Crew 12 to the International Space Station.”

Safety and reliability are core to SpaceX’s business. Our launch frequency allows us to rapidly collect unprecedented levels of flight data, allowing us to learn and innovate quickly.

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 7, 2026

SpaceX also updated the launch page for the Starlink 17-32 mission, providing additional details about the anomaly.

“During launch, prior to the planned deorbit burnup, the second stage entered an out-of-spec condition due to an ignition failure due to a gas bubble in the transfer tube,” SpaceX wrote. “The vehicle then operated as designed, successfully passivating its stage, and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere approximately 10.5 hours later over the southern Indian Ocean. There have been no reports of debris sightings or third-party damage.”

The company also explained the importance of performing a deorbit burn on the upper stage if possible. It announced that 16 upper stages will remain in space in a passivated state from 2024 to 2025, after which six will re-enter the atmosphere.

“The remaining 10-second stages in orbit are not scheduled for deorbit according to the approved mission profile and are continuously tracked so that the satellite with maneuverability can adjust accordingly,” SpaceX wrote. “This deorbit reduction effort requires new ways to perform deorbit burns on missions that cannot be done otherwise, such as missions to geostationary transfer orbits.

“These tests will provide critical data and insights to continually improve Falcon reliability and protect public safety across all missions.”