Space Coast Launch Frenzy: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Kicks Off a Busy December with 29 More Starlinks

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A at 2:44 a.m., carrying 29 Starlink satellites and marking the first of at least five launches expected on Florida’s Space Coast over the next two weeks.

The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster was on its fourth flight and completed a successful downrange recovery on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic.

This liftoff was the 102nd launch from Kennedy Space Center or nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station so far this year, with SpaceX responsible for all but seven of those missions. Combined activity from SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Blue Origin surpassed the previous regional record of 93 launches set in 2024, and the Space Coast is on track for roughly 110 missions by year’s end.

Upcoming launches and notable missions

Starlink 6-95 (Dec. 2/3): SpaceX has another Falcon 9 scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 during a window from 3:16 p.m. to 7:16 p.m., with a backup window on Dec. 3 from 2:50 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. That mission will carry 29 Starlink satellites and use a booster on its 25th flight, aiming for recovery on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Starlink (following Sunday): SpaceX plans another Starlink launch from Kennedy Space Center the next weekend, where its most-flown booster will attempt a record 32nd flight and an Atlantic recovery.

NROL-77 (Dec. 9/10): On Dec. 9 a Falcon 9 is scheduled to fly the NROL-77 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from SLC-40 at 2:16 p.m., with a backup opportunity Dec. 10 at 2:02 p.m. That booster — on its fourth flight — is planned to return to land at Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zone 2. A ground recovery could generate one or more sonic booms audible across Central Florida, potentially affecting residents in Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties.

Amazon Leo 4 / Atlas V (Dec. 15): United Launch Alliance is scheduled to launch an Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 with a window opening at 3:52 a.m. The mission—now named Amazon Leo 4 (formerly Project Kuiper)—will deploy 27 satellites, bringing Amazon’s constellation to about 180 operational satellites of a planned 3,236 by July 2029. This would be Amazon’s seventh operational launch of internet satellites and its fourth flown by ULA.

SpaceX’s Starlink has already seen more than 10,000 satellites launched since the company’s first operational deployments in 2019, while competing constellations such as Amazon’s continue to build capacity.

For ULA, the Atlas V mission could close out its 2025 slate: the company has performed six launches this year, including the third flight of its new Vulcan rocket, and is aiming to expand toward roughly 20 missions in 2026. Blue Origin completed two launches in 2025 and has moved its planned New Glenn flight into early 2026.

Overall, the cadence from Florida suggests SpaceX could sustain a tempo of about one Falcon 9 launch every three days through the end of the year, keeping the Space Coast among the world’s busiest launch regions.