Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 100th orbital mission of 2026

If you're an 805 launch watcher, set an alarm: SpaceX is marking a milestone tonight, and it's happening right in our backyard. As Spaceflight Now reported, the company's 100th orbital mission of 2026 is set to lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base shortly after midnight.

The details

The Starlink 15-20 mission is scheduled for a 12:25 a.m. PDT liftoff from SLC-4E, flying a south-easterly trajectory off the pad. The flight will add another 29 Starlink broadband satellites to the company's low Earth orbit constellation. SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed Friday that more than 11,000 Starlink satellites are now in orbit, according to Spaceflight Now.

For Central Coast residents, an overnight launch from SLC-4E means the familiar pad just south of Lompoc lights up the night sky — and with clear August conditions, the Falcon 9's ascent should be visible well up and down the coast, from Santa Barbara to Pismo Beach and beyond. Overnight Starlink missions from Vandenberg have become a staple of local skywatching, and the south-easterly trajectory typically means a bright, drifting arc for viewers east of the base.

A milestone flight on a workhorse booster

SpaceX will fly this mission with the Falcon 9 first stage booster tail number B1100, per Spaceflight Now. This will be the booster's ninth flight, having previously launched the NROL-105 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office plus seven batches of Starlink satellites — a résumé that shows just how routine booster reuse has become at Vandenberg.

Roughly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1100 will target a landing on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean. If successful, it would mark the 220th landing on that vessel and the 653rd Falcon booster landing to date, Spaceflight Now reported.

The droneship landings are one reason overnight Vandenberg launches tend to be quieter affairs for the 805 than, say, missions that return to Landing Zone 4 near the base — which can rattle windows across Lompoc and the Santa Ynez Valley with twin sonic booms. With the booster headed out to sea tonight, expect the show to be visual rather than audible for most of the Central Coast.

Why 100 missions matters

Hitting 100 orbital launches before the end of August underscores the pace that SpaceX has settled into — and Vandenberg is a major share of it. The West Coast pad at SLC-4E handles the Starlink missions bound for polar and near-polar orbits, trajectories that Vandenberg's coastal position makes uniquely efficient. For a launch fan living in the 805, that means a steady drumbeat of pre-dawn and after-dark liftoffs that are among the most accessible rocket launches in the country — no Cape Canaveral pilgrimage required.

Spaceflight Now's live coverage begins about 30 minutes before liftoff, so tune in around 11:55 p.m. PDT if you want to follow along before stepping outside.

Watching from the 805

As always with Vandenberg launches, the best viewing spots depend on fog — the Central Coast's perennial launch-watching nemesis. Elevated vantage points along Highway 1, the bluffs near Gaviota, and overlooks above Santa Barbara and Goleta can all deliver great views when the marine layer cooperates. For an overnight launch like this one, the rocket's plume against a dark sky can be visible for hundreds of miles if skies are clear.

Whether you're a longtime pad-watcher in Lompoc or catching your first Falcon 9 from a Santa Maria driveway, tonight's flight is a reminder of how lucky the 805 is: a century's worth of SpaceX launches in one year, and a front-row seat to a good number of them right here on the Central Coast.