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SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy delivers ViaSat-3, adds 24 Starlink satellites

4/30/2026

50 9 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, first flight since October 2024, delivering the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
Side boosters 1072 and 1075 landed at Landing Zones 2 and 40, while the central core was expended into the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, deploying 24 Starlink satellites and landing its booster on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’.

History

Historical Context

SpaceX’s reusable launch program, announced in 2011, proved viable when a Falcon 9 first stage landed vertically on 22 December 2015, a feat that cut payload capacity by about 30 percent. Building on that success, NASA and SpaceX fly Falcon Heavy from Pad 39A with the ViaSat-3 F3 payload and launch 24 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, landing the booster on drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’

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Story summary

SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, first flight since October 2024, delivering the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit.
Side boosters 1072 and 1075 landed at Landing Zones 2 and 40, while the central core was expended into the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, deploying 24 Starlink satellites and landing its booster on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’.

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