BOCA CHICA, Texas — SpaceX added another mission to its record 2026 launch tally on Saturday night, sending a batch of eight Globalstar satellites toward low Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The mission, dubbed Globalstar 2R Launch 1, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 with a launch window opening at 9:12 p.m. EDT. It came less than 40 minutes before another planned Falcon 9 flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, a back-to-back cadence that has become routine for SpaceX and highlights just how relentless the company's launch pace has become this year.
A Precise Deployment
The satellites were set to begin deploying more than 56 minutes after liftoff, with the release sequence lasting less than 10 minutes. The payload replenishes Globalstar's low Earth orbit constellation, which delivers voice and data services and increasingly underpins direct-to-device connectivity — a market where SpaceX's own Starlink is a leading player.
Weather cooperated, with the 45th Weather Squadron forecasting a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions and only minor concerns about cumulus and anvil clouds drifting in from afternoon storms.
Another Booster Milestone
Saturday's flight used first-stage booster B1090 on its 14th mission. Less than eight minutes after liftoff, the booster targeted a landing back at Landing Zone 40, adjacent to the pad. A successful touchdown marked the fifth landing at that site and, more strikingly, SpaceX's 649th booster landing overall — a testament to the reusability model that has reshaped the economics of spaceflight and keeps Falcon 9 flying every few days. The workhorse rocket has anchored a manifest that also includes high-profile flights like the recent 93rd Falcon 9 mission of the year.
The Globalstar mission was first announced in the spring and slipped from a May target to give teams more time to prepare the satellites. The launch also arrives against an interesting backdrop: Amazon has moved to acquire Globalstar, a deal expected to close in 2027 that would fold the operator's spectrum and satellites into Amazon's own direct-to-device ambitions.
For SpaceX, the flight is one more data point in a year defined by cadence. With Falcon 9 turning launches around at a pace no competitor can match and Starship inching toward operational service, the company continues to broaden its role as the world's primary ride to orbit. More missions are already stacking up on the manifest, per SpaceX's own launch schedule.
