SpaceX launched 26 Starlink satellites from California on Monday evening (June 16). A relatively new Falcon 9 rocket, making only its third flight, lifted off at 8:36 p.m. PDT local (11:36 p.m. EDT or 0336 GMT June 17) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The SpaceX rocket lifted off at 8:36 p.m. from its launchpad at the California base and reached low Earth orbit about 8½ minutes later.

A mere 30 minutes after the sun set on Monday, the sky was again greeted by a streak of light when SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket across the Southern California coast. With a liftoff time of

Leaks aboard the International Space Station, as well as on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, delayed Axiom's next private astronaut mission, but the crew now has a target launch date of June 19.

This year's launch cadence is outpacing last year's by 3½ weeks on Florida's Space Coast: The 50th orbital launch of 2024 did not occur until July 8.

A bright light flying across the night sky Monday caught the eyes of many San Diegans. SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket around 8:30 p.m. from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. The rocket launch could be seen from all across San Diego County,

"Falcon completes its 500th overall mission! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team for making the impossible possible on the road to rapidly reusable rockets!"

See the view of the flight 8 Starship launch from a camera on the launch mount. The SpaceX Mega Rocket launched from Starbase, Texas. Credit: SpaceX | edited by Space.com