In a predawn display over Florida's Space Coast, SpaceX successfully launched its 130th mission of the year on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, further expanding its Starlink satellite internet constellation. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at precisely 2:46 a.m. EDT, carrying 28 Starlink satellites into the night sky. This mission, designated Starlink 10-59, marked the 90th launch dedicated to the Starlink project in 2025 alone, underscoring the company's aggressive pace in deploying its global broadband network.
The launch proceeded after a week-long delay caused by persistent storms in the region, with the 45th Weather Squadron forecasting a 65 percent chance of favorable conditions at the time of liftoff.
A key element of SpaceX's high-launch cadence and economic model, rocket reusability, was once again on full display. The first stage booster supporting this mission, identified as B1090, completed its eighth successful launch and landing. The veteran booster has previously supported a variety of missions, including the Crew-10 astronaut flight and cargo resupply missions.
Approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster executed a flawless automated landing on the droneship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. This marked the 127th successful recovery on this particular vessel and the 515th overall booster landing for SpaceX.
While the first stage returned to Earth, the Falcon 9's upper stage continued its journey, scheduled to deploy the 28 satellites into low Earth orbit about 64 minutes after launch, adding to the more than 8,500 active Starlink satellites already providing service.
- The Starlink Megaconstellation: This launch brings the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to over 8,500, as tracked by orbital experts. The company's ultimate plan involves a constellation of nearly 12,000 satellites, with potential filings for an expansion to 42,000.
- The service aims to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access to underserved and remote regions globally. As of June 2025, Starlink reported having more than 6 million customers across more than 100 countries.
- Pioneering Rocket Reusability: The eighth flight of booster B1090 is part of a broader, highly successful reusability program that is central to SpaceX's business model. By 2025, the company had landed over 300 boosters, with the fleet leader having completed 26 flights.
- This practice of reflying the most expensive part of the rocket drastically reduces the cost of access to space, enabling a launch cadence that far outpaces competitors. The average turnaround time for a booster to fly again is around 40 days.
- Bridging the Digital Divide: Starlink's primary mission is to connect parts of the world where traditional internet infrastructure is unreliable or non-existent. This has profound implications for economic growth, remote education, and telemedicine.
- The system's rapid-deployment capability has also proven crucial in disaster recovery efforts, providing vital connectivity to communities affected by hurricanes, wildfires, and other emergencies when ground infrastructure is damaged.
- The LEO Internet Race: While Starlink is the dominant player, it faces growing competition. Legacy providers like Viasat and HughesNet offer geostationary satellite services, which have wider availability but higher latency.
- The most direct challenge comes from other low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellations, including Amazon's heavily funded Project Kuiper and OneWeb, which focuses on enterprise and government clients. Additionally, China is actively deploying its own Guowang and Qianfan networks as state-backed alternatives.
- Direct-to-Cell Innovation: SpaceX is expanding its services beyond fixed broadband with its "Direct to Cell" technology. First launched in 2024, this service uses satellites with an onboard eNodeB modem that acts like a cell tower in space, allowing standard LTE phones to connect without modification.
- After enabling text messaging in 2024, SpaceX is rolling out voice, data, and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities in 2025, partnering with mobile operators like T-Mobile in the US, Rogers in Canada, and others worldwide to eliminate cellular dead zones.
- Concerns from the Scientific Community: The rapid growth of satellite megaconstellations has raised significant alarms among astronomers. The satellites reflect sunlight, creating bright streaks that contaminate images from ground-based optical telescopes, and their radio transmissions can interfere with sensitive radio astronomy.
- In response, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) has added the "Dark and Quiet Skies" issue to its agenda for discussion through 2029, seeking international solutions and mitigations.
- Orbital Sustainability and Reentry: With a planned lifespan of about five to seven years, Starlink satellites are designed to deorbit and burn up in the atmosphere. According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, between one and two Starlink satellites are already reentering the atmosphere each day, a rate projected to increase.
- This has sparked research into the potential long-term effects of depositing metal and other particles into the upper atmosphere, as well as the broader challenge of managing orbital debris to prevent a "Kessler syndrome" scenario where collisions create a cascade of more debris.
