Starlink is an internet service provider (ISP) that relies on a constellation of thousands of satellites to provide connectivity across the globe.
Those satellites are deployed in low-earth orbit (LEO) in distances of around 550 km (340 miles). Starlink eventually aims to operate a constellation of 42,000 satellites to provide all kinds of internet services.
Moreover, its satellites have a shelf life of around 5 to 6 years after which they de-orbit and burn up in earth’s atmosphere upon re-entry. As such, continuous deployment of new satellites is of the essence.
On this page, we track all of Starlink’s launches, their success rate, and what types of satellites were transported.
All Starlink Satellite Launches
I want to preface this section by giving all the credit to the amazing Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who tracks the location of Starlink satellites on his personal blog.
With that being said, here are all the launches Starlink has undergone so far:
| No. | Mission | Sat. Gen. | COSPAR ID | Date | Deployed | Operational | Outcome | Source |
| – | Tintin | v0.1 | 2018-020 | 22-Feb-18 | 2 | 0 | Success | here |
| 1 | v0.9 | v0.9 | 2019-029 | 24-May-19 | 60 | 0 | Success | here |
| 2 | L1 | v1.0 | 2019-074 | 11-Nov-19 | 60 | 44 | Success | here |
| 3 | L2 | v1.0 | 2020-001 | 07-Jan-20 | 60 | 41 | Success | here |
| 4 | L3 | v1.0 | 2020-006 | 29-Jan-20 | 60 | 46 | Success | here |
| 5 | L4 | v1.0 | 2020-012 | 17-Feb-20 | 60 | 47 | Success | here |
| 6 | L5 | v1.0 | 2020-019 | 18-Mar-20 | 60 | 52 | Success | here |
| 7 | L6 | v1.0 | 2020-025 | 22-Apr-20 | 60 | 51 | Success | here |
| 8 | L7 | v1.0 | 2020-035 | 04-Jun-20 | 60 | 53 | Success | here |
| 9 | L8 | v1.0 | 2020-038 | 13-Jun-20 | 58 | 42 | Success | here |
| 10 | L9 | v1.0 | 2020-055 | 07-Aug-20 | 57 | 54 | Success | here |
| 11 | L10 | v1.0 | 2020-057 | 18-Aug-20 | 58 | 52 | Success | here |
| 12 | L11 | v1.0 | 2020-062 | 03-Sep-20 | 60 | 49 | Success | here |
| 13 | L12 | v1.0 | 2020-070 | 06-Oct-20 | 60 | 47 | Success | here |
| 14 | L13 | v1.0 | 2020-073 | 18-Oct-20 | 60 | 47 | Success | here |
| 15 | L14 | v1.0 | 2020-074 | 24-Oct-20 | 60 | 43 | Success | here |
| 16 | L15 | v1.0 | 2020-088 | 25-Nov-20 | 60 | 40 | Success | here |
| 17 | L16 | v1.0 | 2021-005 | 20-Jan-21 | 60 | 57 | Success | here |
| – | Tr-1 | v1.0 | 2021-006 | 24-Jan-21 | 10 | 0 | Success | here |
| 18 | L18 | v1.0 | 2021-009 | 04-Feb-21 | 60 | 56 | Success | here |
| 19 | L19 | v1.0 | 2021-012 | 16-Feb-21 | 60 | 57 | Success | here |
| 20 | L17 | v1.0 | 2021-017 | 04-Mar-21 | 60 | 54 | Success | here |
| 21 | L20 | v1.0 | 2021-018 | 09-Mar-21 | 60 | 60 | Success | here |
| 22 | L21 | v1.0 | 2021-021 | 14-Mar-21 | 60 | 54 | Success | here |
| 23 | L22 | v1.0 | 2021-024 | 24-Mar-21 | 60 | 44 | Success | here |
| 24 | L23 | v1.0 | 2021-027 | 07-Apr-21 | 60 | 60 | Success | here |
| 25 | L24 | v1.0 | 2021-036 | 29-Apr-21 | 60 | 60 | Success | here |
| 26 | L25 | v1.0 | 2021-038 | 04-May-21 | 60 | 60 | Success | here |
| 27 | L27 | v1.0 | 2021-040 | 09-May-21 | 60 | 58 | Success | here |
| 28 | L26 | v1.0 | 2021-041 | 15-May-21 | 52 | 49 | Success | here |
| 29 | L28 | v1.0 | 2021-044 | 26-May-21 | 60 | 60 | Success | here |
| – | Tr-2 | v1.5 | 2021-059 | 30-Jun-21 | 3 | 3 | Success | here |
| 30 | Group 2-1 | v1.5 | 2021-082 | 14-Sep-21 | 51 | 50 | Success | here |
| 31 | Group 4-1 | v1.5 | 2021-104 | 13-Nov-21 | 53 | 52 | Success | here |
| 32 | Group 4-3 | v1.5 | 2021-115 | 02-Dec-21 | 48 | 48 | Success | here |
| 33 | Group 4-4 | v1.5 | 2021-125 | 18-Dec-21 | 52 | 48 | Success | here |
| 34 | Group 4-5 | v1.5 | 2022-001 | 06-Jan-22 | 49 | 47 | Success | here |
| 35 | Group 4-6 | v1.5 | 2022-005 | 19-Jan-22 | 49 | 49 | Success | here |
| 36 | Group 4-7 | v1.5 | 2022-010 | 03-Feb-22 | 49 | 10 | Success | here |
| 37 | Group 4-8 | v1.5 | 2022-016 | 21-Feb-22 | 46 | 45 | Success | here |
| 38 | Group 4-11 | v1.5 | 2022-017 | 25-Feb-22 | 50 | 48 | Success | here |
| 39 | Group 4-9 | v1.5 | 2022-022 | 03-Mar-22 | 47 | 47 | Success | here |
| 40 | Group 4-10 | v1.5 | 2022-025 | 09-Mar-22 | 48 | 44 | Success | here |
| 41 | Group 4-12 | v1.5 | 2022-029 | 19-Mar-22 | 53 | 47 | Success | here |
| 42 | Group 4-14 | v1.5 | 2022-041 | 21-Apr-22 | 53 | 51 | Success | here |
| 43 | Group 4-16 | v1.5 | 2022-045 | 29-Apr-22 | 53 | 51 | Success | here |
| 44 | Group 4-17 | v1.5 | 2022-049 | 06-May-22 | 53 | 53 | Success | here |
| 45 | Group 4-13 | v1.5 | 2022-051 | 13-May-22 | 53 | 52 | Success | here |
| 46 | Group 4-15 | v1.5 | 2022-052 | 14-May-22 | 53 | 53 | Success | here |
| 47 | Group 4-18 | v1.5 | 2022-053 | 18-May-22 | 53 | 53 | Success | here |
| 48 | Group 4-19 | v1.5 | 2022-062 | 17-Jun-22 | 53 | 53 | Success | here |
| 49 | Group 4-21 | v1.5 | 2022-076 | 07-Jul-22 | 53 | 51 | Success | here |
| 50 | Group 3-1 | v1.5 | 2022-077 | 11-Jul-22 | 46 | 46 | Success | here |
| 51 | Group 4-22 | v1.5 | 2022-083 | 17-Jul-22 | 53 | 53 | Success | here |
| 52 | Group 3-2 | v1.5 | 2022-084 | 22-Jul-22 | 46 | 45 | Success | here |
| 53 | Group 4-25 | v1.5 | 2022-086 | 24-Jul-22 | 53 | 49 | Success | here |
| 54 | Group 4-26 | v1.5 | 2022-097 | 10-Aug-22 | 52 | 51 | Success | here |
| 55 | Group 3-3 | v1.5 | 2022-099 | 12-Aug-22 | 46 | 46 | Success | here |
| 56 | Group 4-27 | v1.5 | 2022-101 | 19-Aug-22 | 53 | 53 | Success | here |
| 57 | Group 4-23 | v1.5 | 2022-104 | 28-Aug-22 | 54 | 51 | Success | here |
| 58 | Group 3-4 | v1.5 | 2022-105 | 31-Aug-22 | 46 | 45 | Success | here |
| 59 | Group 4-20 | v1.5 | 2022-107 | 05-Sep-22 | 51 | 45 | Success | here |
| 60 | Group 4-2 | v1.5 | 2022-111 | 10-Sep-22 | 34 | 31 | Success | here |
| 61 | Group 4-34 | v1.5 | 2022-114 | 18-Sep-22 | 54 | 54 | Success | here |
| 62 | Group 4-35 | v1.5 | 2022-119 | 24-Sep-22 | 52 | 47 | Success | here |
| 63 | Group 4-29 | v1.5 | 2022-125 | 05-Oct-22 | 52 | 51 | Success | here |
| 64 | Group 4-36 | v1.5 | 2022-136 | 20-Oct-22 | 54 | 50 | Success | here |
| 65 | Group 4-31 | v1.5 | 2022-141 | 28-Oct-22 | 53 | 46 | Success | here |
| 66 | Group 4-37 | v1.5 | 2022-175 | 17-Dec-22 | 54 | 22 | Success | here |
| 67 | Group 5-1 | v1.5 | 2022-177 | 28-Dec-22 | 54 | 26 | Success | here |
| 68 | Group 2-4 | v1.5 | 2023-010 | 19-Jan-23 | 51 | 0 | Success | here |
| 69 | Group 5-2 | v1.5 | 2023-013 | 26-Jan-23 | 56 | 0 | Success | here |
| 70 | Group 2-6 | v1.5 | 2023-014 | 31-Jan-23 | 49 | 0 | Success | here |
| 71 | Group 5-3 | v1.5 | 2023-015 | 02-Feb-23 | 53 | 0 | Success | here |
| 72 | Group 5-4 | v1.5 | 2023-020 | 12-Feb-23 | 55 | 0 | Success | here |
| 73 | Group 2-5 | v1.5 | 2023-021 | 17-Feb-23 | 51 | 0 | Success | here |
| 74 | Group 6-1 | v2.0 mini | 2023-026 | 27-Feb-23 | 21 | 0 | Success | here |
| 75 | Group 2-7 | v1.5 | 2023-028 | 03-Mar-23 | 51 | 0 | Success | here |
| 76 | Group 2-8 | v1.5 | 2023-037 | 17-Mar-23 | 52 | 0 | Success | here |
| 77 | Group 5-5 | v1.5 | 2023-042 | 24-Mar-23 | 56 | 0 | Success | here |
| 78 | Group 5-10 | v1.5 | 2023-046 | 29-Mar-23 | 56 | 0 | Success | here |
| 79 | Group 6-2 | v2.0 mini | 2023-056 | 19-Apr-23 | 21 | 0 | Success | here |
| 80 | Group 3-5 | v1.5 | 2023-058 | 27-April-23 | 46 | 0 | Success | here |
| 81 | Group 5-6 | v1.5 | 2023-061 | 04-May-23 | 56 | 0 | Success | here |
| 82 | Group 2-9 | v1.5 | 2023-064 | 10-May-23 | 51 | 0 | Success | here |
| 83 | Group 5-9 | v1.5 | 2023-065 | 14-May-23 | 56 | 0 | Success | here |
| 84 | Group 6-3 | v2.0 mini | 2023-067 | 19-May-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 85 | Group 2-10 | v1.5 | 2023-078 | 31-May-23 | 52 | 0 | Success | here |
| 86 | Group 6-4 | v2.0 mini | 2023-079 | 04-Jun-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 87 | Group 5-11 | v1.5 | 2023-083 | 12-Jun023 | 52 | 0 | Success | here |
| 88 | Group 5-7 | v1.5 | 2023-088 | 22-Jun-23 | 47 | 0 | Success | here |
| 89 | Group 5-12 | v1.5 | 2023-090 | 23-Jun-23 | 56 | 0 | Sucess | here |
| 90 | Group 5-13 | v1.5 | 2023-094 | 07-Jul-23 | 48 | 0 | Success | here |
| 91 | Group 6-5 | v2.0 mini | 2023-096 | 10-Jul-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 92 | Group 5-15 | v1.5 | 2023-099 | 16-Jul-23 | 54 | 0 | Success | here |
| 93 | Group 6-15 | v2.0 mini | 2023-101 | 19-Jul-23 | 15 | 0 | Success | here |
| 94 | Group 6-6 | v2.0 mini | 2023-105 | 24-Jul-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 95 | Group 6-7 | v2.0 mini | 2023-107 | 28-Jul-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 96 | Group 6-8 | v2.0 mini | 2023-113 | 07-Aug-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 97 | Group 6-20 | v2.0 mini | 2023-115 | 08-Aug-23 | 15 | 0 | Success | here |
| 98 | Group 6-9 | v2.0 mini | 2023-120 | 11-Aug-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 99 | Group 6-10 | v2.0 mini | 2023-123 | 17-Aug-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 100 | Group 7-1 | v2.0 mini | 2023-125 | 22-Aug-23 | 21 | 0 | Success | here |
| 101 | Group 6-11 | v2.0 mini | 2023-129 | 27-Aug-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 102 | Group 6-13 | v2.0 mini | 2023-131 | 01-Sep-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 103 | Group 6-12 | v2.0 mini | 2023-134 | 04-Sep-23 | 21 | 0 | Success | here |
| 104 | Group 6-14 | v2.0 mini | 2023-138 | 09-Sep-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 105 | Group 7-2 | v2.0 mini | 2023-141 | 12-Sept-23 | 21 | 0 | Success | here |
| 106 | Group 6-16 | v2.0 mini | 2023-144 | 16-Sep-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 107 | Group 6-17 | v2.0 mini | 2023-146 | 20-Sep-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 108 | Group 6-18 | v2.0 mini | 2023-147 | 24-Sep-23 | 22 | 0 | Success | here |
| 109 | Group 7-3 | v2.0 mini | 2023-148 | 25-Sep-23 | 21 | 0 | Success | here |
As you can see in the table above, most launches carry around 50 or so Starlink satellites with them. In some cases, like Group 4-2 or Group 2-6, they are transported alongside other payloads – missions commonly referred to as rideshares.
Moreover, since the summer of 2021, SpaceX has solely been transporting v1.5 satellites. One of the key differentiators to older versions is the usage of lasers, which enables satellite-to-satellite communication.
Almost 1.5 years later, in February 2023, Starlink launched the first Gen2 satellites, which are substantially heavier and more potent than its v1.x predecessors. As a result, only about 20 of them, even being the so-called ‘Mini’ version, can be transported on board of SpaceX’s Falcon rocket.
Right now, SpaceX is using the mini version of those satellites but expects to deploy an even bigger version once Starship is ready for flying.
How Many Starlink Satellites Are In Orbit?
Currently, there are 4,807 Starlink satellites in orbit. However, ‘only’ 4,776 of them are still working. Those 31 satellites are set to deorbit and renter earth’s atmosphere in the next few weeks and months.
Right now, 4,097 satellites remain operational according to McDowell. Keep in mind that it normally takes Starlink satellites a few weeks until they reach their operational orbit of around 550km altitude, hence why the newer entries still show 0 under the ‘Operational’ tab.
This is also the reason why some people end up seeing so-called satellite trains, which are a group of Starlink satellites that roam earth at an altitude of around 400km (~248 miles) until they reach their designated level.
Each of the v1.5’s is able to provide 20 GBps of bandwidth. Consequently, at around 3300 operational v1.5 satellites, the total constellation can currently provide a total bandwidth of about 65 TBps.
How Many Starlink Satellites Are There In Total?
Starlink has launched a total of 5,178 satellites. Consequently, it lost around 300 satellites for a variety of reasons, ranging from space storms to hardware malfunctioning.
Amazingly, all of SpaceX’s 109 launches carrying Starlink satellites have been successful so far. Those include both dedicated missions as well as rideshares.
As you can see in the table above, SpaceX has also ramped up its launch cadence for Starlink. Over 50 percent of all satellites in orbit were launched in 2022 alone. And 2023, given the current number of launches, looks to be just as potent of a year for Starlink.