Comments on: SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites

By: mkent

mkent — Sat, 04 Oct 2025 22:50:42 +0000

Dick: No problem. Note that the payload of 24 optimized satellites on a group 17 launch *is* an improvement over the 21 regular V2 minis.

By: Dick Eagleson

Dick Eagleson — Sat, 04 Oct 2025 10:56:14 +0000

Thanks for the clarification. I didn’t know the inclination of the launch and simply assumed it had the same steep inclination as most Vandy launches.

By: mkent

mkent — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 21:46:50 +0000

”The typical recent Starlink load-out on Vandy launches has been 24 birds. 28 is a 16.7% increase in number.”

That’s because the typical recent Starlink flight out of Vandy went to a 97.6 deg inclination, which is slightly retrograde. This flight went to a pro-grade 53 deg inclination, the same as recent Starlink flights from the Cape. Same inclination — same number of satellites. It has nothing to do with changes in satellite weight.

By: Dick Eagleson

Dick Eagleson — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:44:13 +0000

The first stage did look unusually clean. And one could see it plainly prior to launch which is not always the case at Vandy.

I see the Starlink load on this mission was 28 birds. The Starlink V2 mini optimized sats – as they are called now – seem to have gotten an additional weight-reducing optimization. The typical recent Starlink load-out on Vandy launches has been 24 birds. 28 is a 16.7% increase in number. I wonder if we will be seeing load-outs of 32 or 33 birds on FL Starlink launches soon instead of the recently typical 28. I hope so.