B1100

At a Glance

B1100 is a Falcon 9 Block 5 booster manufactured by SpaceX, carrying a distinction no other booster in the fleet can claim: a commemorative '100' logo painted on its side in place of the usual serial number markings. The booster entered service on November 23, 2025, and has flown four missions as of its last launch on March 20, 2026. All four flights have ended in successful landings, a perfect recovery record that reflects both the maturity of SpaceX's reusable rocket program and the relative ease of the Starlink deployment missions it has flown so far.

B1100 remains active in the fleet. Of its four missions to date, two have lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, making it a familiar sight in the western skies above Lompoc and Santa Barbara County. The booster's Vandenberg career began in March 2026 and continues into April, with both flights dedicated to delivering Starlink satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits—the kind of trajectory that makes Vandenberg indispensable and gives Central Coast residents front-row seats to some of the most predictable launch opportunities in the country.

The Career of B1100

B1100 debuted in late 2025, though its first two flights originated outside the 805. The booster's introduction to Vandenberg came on March 20, 2026, when it launched Starlink Group 17-15 from SLC-4E. That mission marked the booster's fourth overall flight and its second visit to the Central Coast launch complex. The choice of B1100 for Vandenberg operations reflects SpaceX's strategy of rotating boosters across both coasts, balancing fleet utilization while maintaining high cadence at each site.

The pattern that has emerged in B1100's brief career is one of rapid reuse. Four flights in less than five months is a pace that would have been unthinkable a decade ago, but it's now routine for SpaceX's Block 5 boosters. Each mission has been a Starlink Group 17 deployment, part of the ongoing buildout of SpaceX's polar shell constellation. These missions require precise orbital insertion and favor the southerly launch trajectories that Vandenberg offers, flying over the Pacific rather than populated areas to the east.

The special '100' logo distinguishes B1100 from every other booster in the fleet. While SpaceX has not publicly detailed the reasoning behind the commemorative marking, the number itself carries weight—whether it references a production milestone, a flight achievement, or simply a round number worth celebrating. For observers along the coast, the logo is rarely visible in flight, but it has made B1100 a favorite subject for photographers at Port Hueneme and Surf Beach when the booster returns to port aboard the recovery vessel.

Vandenberg Missions

B1100's first Vandenberg launch occurred on March 20, 2026, carrying Starlink Group 17-15 from SLC-4E. The mission was the booster's fourth overall flight and ended in a successful landing, continuing the booster's unblemished recovery record. A little over a month later, on April 23, 2026, B1100 returned to the same pad for Starlink Group 17-14, its fifth flight. That mission is currently listed as a go, representing the booster's most recent assignment and its second consecutive Vandenberg sortie.

Landings and Recovery

All four of B1100's landings to date have been successful, though SpaceX has not publicly specified the landing zone for each mission. Most Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg—particularly those headed to polar orbit with a full Starlink payload—target the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You, stationed several hundred miles downrange in the Pacific. The booster descends through a plume of its own exhaust, touches down on the deck, and is secured by SpaceX's recovery crew before the ship returns to port, often at Port Hueneme in Ventura County.

A smaller number of Vandenberg missions execute a return-to-launch-site landing at Landing Zone 4, the concrete pad adjacent to SLC-4E. These landings are louder and more dramatic, producing a double sonic boom audible across Lompoc, Vandenberg Village, and as far north as Santa Maria when atmospheric conditions cooperate. The boom arrives several minutes after liftoff, a sudden crack that has become a signature sound of the local aerospace economy. B1100 has not yet been confirmed for an LZ-4 landing, but if it draws a lighter payload or a trajectory that permits the fuel margin, residents may yet hear its return.

Still in the Game

B1100 is active, recently flown, and likely to appear on future Vandenberg manifests as SpaceX continues to build out its polar Starlink shell. With a perfect landing record and a workload focused on the relatively benign Starlink missions, the booster is positioned for a long career. Whether it will accumulate the ten, fifteen, or even twenty flights that some Block 5 boosters have reached remains to be seen, but for now, B1100 is doing exactly what it was built to do: fly, land, and fly again. For those of us on the Central Coast, that means more chances to watch a piece of hardware with a commemorative logo climb into the sunset and return to Earth under its own power, a routine that still feels anything but routine.