Update 8:18 p.m. EST (0118 UTC): SpaceX has postponed the mission launch time.

SpaceX is preparing for its final three Falcon 9 launches before the end of the year, which will begin with a Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The Starlink 11-3 mission will add an additional 22 V2 mini-satellites to the mega-constellation in low Earth orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) is scheduled for 5:58 p.m. PST (8:58 p.m. EST, 0158 UTC).

Spaceflight Now’s live broadcast begins approximately 30 minutes before launch.



The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1075 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for the 16th time. Previously, the launches of the Starlink missions Transporter-11, SARah-2 and 12 were supported.

Just over eight minutes after launch, B1075 will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, stationed in the Pacific Ocean. If successful, it would be the 115th booster landing on OCISLY and the 388th booster landing to date.

SpaceX has another Starlink mission planned before it ends in 2024. Starlink 12-6 is scheduled to launch at midnight from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and begin on December 30, barring any weather or technical delays.

Between these Starlink flights, SpaceX will make another attempt to launch the “Astranis: From One to Many” from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company experienced a pad abort during the launch attempt on December 21, which prevented launch.

Without much fanfare or an explanation as to the root cause of the problem, SpaceX decided to replace the booster used on the Astranis flight. It swapped out B1077 and brought in B1083 in its place.

Assuming all three launches can occur before the New Year, SpaceX will finish 2024 with a total of 134 orbital launches on its Falcon family of rockets, which is 10 fewer than the company’s goal set at the start of the year. Two of these were Falcon Heavy flights, the rest were Falcon 9 launches.

In a post on The company is on track to complete 41 orbital launches this quarter.

We are now targeting 134 launches – two fewer than our last goal – to finish 2024 strong, with one launch from every launch site and a record quarter for Falcon and @SpaceX.

Ultimately there is only one number that really counts. ZERO failures. Our priority is and will always be safety… https://t.co/b3YO1Fm839

– Kiko Dontchev (@TurkeyBeaver) December 27, 2024