SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have scheduled back‑to‑back evening launches from Cape Canaveral that could tie the Space Coast’s annual record with a 93rd orbital mission. SpaceX’s Starlink 6‑81 will carry 29 satellites and attempt a fifth booster recovery on the droneship Just Read the Instructions, followed by ULA’s ViaSat‑3 F2 launch at 10:24 p.m. Weather forecasts are highly favorable, with roughly 95% odds for good conditions for both attempts. If successful, the three local providers are on track to surpass 100 launches from the Space Coast before year’s end.
SpaceX and ULA Schedule Back‑to‑Back Cape Canaveral Launches That Could Tie Space Coast Record
SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have scheduled back‑to‑back evening launches from Cape Canaveral that could tie the Space Coast’s annual record with a 93rd orbital mission. SpaceX’s Starlink 6‑81 will carry 29 satellites and attempt a fifth booster recovery on the droneship Just Read the Instructions, followed by ULA’s ViaSat‑3 F2 launch at 10:24 p.m. Weather forecasts are highly favorable, with roughly 95% odds for good conditions for both attempts. If successful, the three local providers are on track to surpass 100 launches from the Space Coast before year’s end.
01:54, 06.11.2025Science
Two evening launches from Cape Canaveral could tie the Space Coast record
ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have parked rockets on adjacent pads at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and are poised for back‑to‑back evening liftoffs that, if successful, would tie the Space Coast’s annual record for orbital missions.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 at Space Launch Complex 40 is scheduled to launch the Starlink 6‑81 mission carrying 29 satellites. The launch window opens at 6:08 p.m. and closes at 10:08 p.m. The booster on this mission is attempting its fifth flight and is expected to try a recovery landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic.
Later, United Launch Alliance plans to lift off an Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 carrying the ViaSat‑3 F2 satellite, targeting liftoff at 10:24 p.m. at the opening of a 44‑minute window.
Weather and launch odds
Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts highly favorable conditions: better than 95% chance of good weather for the SpaceX attempt and about a 95% chance for the ULA launch.
What’s at stake
If both vehicles reach orbit as planned, these two flights would become the 93rd orbital launches from the Space Coast this year, matching the record set in 2024. So far this year SpaceX will have flown 87 missions, ULA five and Blue Origin one.
- Three active Cape Canaveral pads account for 73 launches this year; Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39‑A has handled 20.
- ULA has flown four Atlas V missions and one Vulcan flight so far; 11 remaining Atlas V vehicles are reserved for Amazon’s Project Kuiper or Boeing’s Starliner missions.
- Blue Origin’s New Glenn made its first flight in January and — according to the FAA — could attempt a second mission as soon as Sunday.
- SpaceX has conducted all four human spaceflights launched from the region this year — Crew‑10, Fram2, Ax‑4 and Crew‑11 — and currently has no crewed missions scheduled until 2026. All SpaceX launches this year have used the Falcon 9; no Falcon Heavy flights are planned.
Together, the three providers are on pace to exceed 100 orbital launches from the Space Coast before the end of the year, continuing a busy launch cadence for Florida’s space corridor.
Note: Launch dates and windows are subject to change based on technical checks and real‑time weather updates. For the latest status, consult official mission feeds for SpaceX, ULA and Space Launch Delta 45.