SpaceX Falcon 9 deploys 28 Starlink V2 satellites to orbit

On March 31, 2025, SpaceX launched 28 Starlink V2 satellites with a new Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This was the 17th flight for the first stage booster, which landed on the droneship after separating from the second stage and sending the mission to orbit. This was also the 425th landing of an orbital class rocket.

Michael Nicolls, VP of Starlink engineering at SpaceX, has revealed that this is the first launch of 28 V2 Starlink satellites, which provides nearly 2.7 Tbps of fronthaul capacity.

The V2 satellites represent the second generation of satellite internet constellation, which improves the performance and connectivity. It has two variants, V2 and V2 mini, and both have technological differences including size and weight.

Source – SpaceX

The V2 satellite has 1,250kg per satellite mass, it’s 7 meter wide and will be required to travel on a Starship rocket. It has dual solar arrays for better power generation to support advanced payloads.

However, V2 mini satellites are around 800kg lighter than its larger sibling but still heavier than V1 satellites. It has dual solar arrays similar to V2 for improved power intake.

The V2 has improved bandwidth through powerful antennas, it is designed to handle more traffic, targeting both consumer and enterprise-level internet services with improved latency and coverage.

The V2 full version is designed for the Starship rocket, which could fit at least 100 satellites per mission. On the other hand, the Falcon 9 could carry 20–28 V2 mini satellites per mission.