Space Coast Poised for 100th Launch of the Year as SpaceX Readies Starlink Flight

The Space Coast was preparing to mark its 100th orbital launch of the year as SpaceX targeted a late-night Falcon 9 liftoff from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A. The Starlink 6-78 mission was scheduled to lift off at 10:20 p.m., within a launch window running from 10:01 p.m. through 2:01 a.m. Friday, carrying 29 Starlink satellites.

Launch details

The previous mission, mission No. 99, launched Tuesday evening from neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasted better than a 95% chance of favorable conditions for the attempt. The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster was set to fly for the 23rd time and aimed to land downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic.

Regional launch cadence and records

SpaceX accounted for the vast majority of launches from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) this year, flying all but seven missions from the Space Coast. United Launch Alliance contributed five missions — one Vulcan and four Atlas V rockets — while Blue Origin conducted two launches. Together, these providers surpassed the previous regional record of 93 launches set in 2024, reaching mission No. 94 on Nov. 10 and maintaining a brisk tempo thereafter. Last week they achieved four launches (missions 95–98) from four different pads in under 34 hours.

Pads, approvals and turnaround

KSC had hosted 23 launches this year, with the other 77 departing from three pads at Cape Canaveral. SpaceX’s workhorse, Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), accounted for 70 of those flights. The Federal Aviation Administration this year approved an increase in SLC-40’s annual cap from 50 launches to as many as 120, and SpaceX is awaiting FAA approval to raise Launch Pad 39A’s base from 20 to 36 launches per year. In recent years, SpaceX has occasionally been authorized to exceed those nominal limits under special arrangements.

The fastest turnaround at SLC-40 this year was two days, seven hours and 29 minutes between two October launches. SpaceX is also building an additional landing pad at SLC-40 and has proposed two pads at KSC capable of supporting double-booster recoveries for Falcon Heavy flights. The U.S. Space Force has ended SpaceX’s use of Landing Zone 1 at CCSFS but the company has continued to use Landing Zone 2 for the time being.

Outlook: more launches ahead

Launch activity on the Space Coast has climbed steadily: 57 missions in 2022, 72 in 2023 and 93 in 2024. Projections suggest combined annual launches from all providers could top 200 by 2028 and reach 300 before the decade’s end. A 2024 study commissioned by Space Florida projected that maritime and ground support could enable as many as 1,250 annual launches on the Space Coast over the next five decades.

SpaceX has plans to operate as many as 120 Starship/Super Heavy missions from two pads under construction at KSC and CCSFS, pending environmental reviews; those Starship flights would be in addition to the large cadence of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions the company seeks to run from existing pads. Other operators are also preparing for higher tempos: United Launch Alliance aims for at least 24 missions per year from SLC-41, Blue Origin has signaled interest in increasing LC-36 operations, and new or returning providers such as Relativity Space, Stoke Space, Firefly Aerospace, Vaya Space, Phantom Space and Astra (potential return) are targeting Cape Canaveral and KSC pads.

Bottom line: The Space Coast’s launch activity has accelerated rapidly, and Thursday’s Starlink mission—if successful—would be a milestone 100th orbital liftoff for the region this year, underscoring a continuing surge in commercial and national space operations.