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Arianespace launched its first rocket of 2026, initiating a series of approximately six scheduled flights for the year. SpaceX celebrated Valentine's Day with its 600th Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, deploying 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbits.

Prior to this, another Falcon rocket transported astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), with the Crew Dragon named Freedom docking at 3:15 p.m. EST, roughly 34 hours after launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Vandenberg launch concluded with the B1081 booster landing on the drone ship 'Of course I still love you', marking SpaceX's 178th landing on this vessel and the 571st overall booster landing.