The Space Coast recorded four launches in two days — Blue Origin’s New Glenn and ULA’s Atlas V on Thursday and two SpaceX Starlink flights scheduled for Friday night — bringing the region’s total to 96 launches in 2025, above last year’s record of 93. Space Launch Delta 45 credited infrastructure upgrades and partnerships for the surge but warned that maintaining the pace requires more specialized personnel. Port Canaveral increased recovery operations, recovering 90 boosters and 194 fairing halves in the fiscal year. Planned SLS, new provider activity and infrastructure expansion mean 2026 could be even busier.
Space Coast Launch Surge: 4 Missions in 48 Hours as Cape Hits 96 Launches in 2025
The Space Coast recorded four launches in two days — Blue Origin’s New Glenn and ULA’s Atlas V on Thursday and two SpaceX Starlink flights scheduled for Friday night — bringing the region’s total to 96 launches in 2025, above last year’s record of 93. Space Launch Delta 45 credited infrastructure upgrades and partnerships for the surge but warned that maintaining the pace requires more specialized personnel. Port Canaveral increased recovery operations, recovering 90 boosters and 194 fairing halves in the fiscal year. Planned SLS, new provider activity and infrastructure expansion mean 2026 could be even busier.
09:20 PM, 11/14/2025Technology
Space Coast launch surge sets new pace for 2025
The Space Coast saw an intense two-day run of launches this week as three companies flew four missions from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center. Blue Origin’s New Glenn (NG‑2) lifted off from Launch Complex 36 at 3:55 p.m. Thursday, followed by United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V on the ViaSat‑3 F2 mission from SLC‑41 at 10:04 p.m. the same day. SpaceX scheduled two Starlink Falcon 9 launches Friday night — one from KSC’s Launch Pad 39A and another from SLC‑40 — with windows running from 10:10 p.m. to 2:01 a.m. Saturday.
Those missions brought the combined total for launches from Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center to 96 for 2025, surpassing last year’s record of 93. Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD 45), which coordinates the Eastern Range, first noted the milestone earlier this week after a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
“This milestone is a testament to the dedication, expertise and resilience of the entire Eastern Range team,” said Col. Brian Chatman, commander of SLD 45. He credited infrastructure modernization, streamlined procedures and strengthened partnerships with commercial and international allies for enabling the surge.
Range support and personnel needs
SLD 45’s responsibilities cover weather forecasting, launch specialists, range safety, security forces, firefighting and explosive ordnance disposal, among other critical functions. The unit and its partners supported 13 missions over a 43‑day span, including the two Thursday flights. Chatman warned that sustaining this high cadence will require more skilled personnel — from electrical engineers and communications technicians to payload integration specialists — and appropriate resourcing to avoid overload.
Recovery activity and port operations
Port Canaveral’s recovery operations have ramped up to match the launch tempo. During the fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025, Port Canaveral’s three mobile harbor cranes handled the return of 90 SpaceX boosters and 194 fairing halves, in addition to hardware and payloads for other space companies that arrived by ship.
What’s next for the Space Coast
Launch activity could accelerate further in 2026. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is targeted as early as February from Launch Pad 39‑B. Relativity Space may return to Launch Complex 16 with Terran‑R, Stoke Space is planning operations at LC‑14 with its Nova vehicle, and SpaceX continues expanding Starship/Super Heavy infrastructure at SLC‑37 and LC‑39A while increasing Falcon 9 cadence.
Planned capacities and approvals: SpaceX has proposed high cadence operations — roughly up to 120 Falcon 9 flights from SLC‑40 and potentially 36 from LC‑39A — while ULA aims to ramp to at least 24 launches per year from SLC‑41 and Blue Origin is approved for up to 12 launches annually from LC‑36. At the start of 2025, SLD 45 said it was prepared to support up to 156 launches in a year — a figure that now looks increasingly attainable.
SLD 45 emphasized that each mission reflects the professionalism of Guardians, Airmen, civilian teammates and mission partners who keep the Eastern Range ready to support national objectives and expand U.S. space capabilities.