SpaceX Sends 10,000th Starlink Satellite Into Orbit With Latest Falcon 9 Launch

SpaceX continues to secure its position as the premier low Earth orbit constellation satellite broadband provider, with the latest Falcon 9 launch sending 28 new satellites into orbit. This brings the total number of Starlink satellites launched to more than 10,000, though with deprecated satellites falling back into the atmosphere, the current in-orbit total is somewhere around 8,500.

The first Starlink satellites were launched in 2019 to develop what was, at the time, an unproven method for delivering high-speed internet to remote areas. As SpaceX filled out its Falcon 9 rocket payloads with Starlink satellites whenever it had spare capacity, the number of satellites in orbit swiftly grew. Now, it has by far the most expansive constellation broadband network, with the nearest competitors barely offering 100 satellites in comparison.

As of fall 2025, Starlink has over 7 million customers, with the ability to deploy Starlink internet just ...