Three orbital launches could occur from Cape Canaveral between late Sunday, Dec. 14 and midday Monday, Dec. 15, featuring two SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink missions and a ULA Atlas V carrying Amazon LEO satellites. Launch windows range from 9:43 p.m. Sunday to 12:11 p.m. Monday, producing a span of 6 hours, 28 minutes to 14 hours, 28 minutes between first and last liftoff. These flights are recorded as the 107th–109th orbital launches from Florida this year and reflect growing demand for commercial LEO constellations.
Cape Canaveral Tripleheader Possible: SpaceX, ULA Could Launch Three Rockets Within 14½ Hours
Two Cape Canaveral launch providers may send three orbital rockets into space in a rapid overnight sequence beginning late Sunday, Dec. 14, and continuing into Monday, Dec. 15. Depending on exact liftoff times, the sequence could span as little as 6 hours, 28 minutes or as much as 14 hours, 28 minutes.
Launch Schedule
Mission 1 — SpaceX Falcon 9 (Starlink)
Launch window: 9:43 p.m. Sunday to 1:43 a.m. Monday.
Pad: Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Payload: Batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Mission 2 — ULA Atlas V (Amazon LEO)
Launch window: 3:49 a.m. to 4:18 a.m. Monday.
Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Configuration: Atlas V with five solid rocket boosters carrying Amazon low‑Earth‑orbit satellites.
Mission 3 — SpaceX Falcon 9 (Starlink)
Launch window: 8:11 a.m. to 12:11 p.m. Monday.
Pad: Launch Pad 39A, NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Payload: Another batch of Starlink satellites.
"So the first (reason) is the demand. The demand comes from proliferation of large constellations in low‑Earth orbit that are commercial from a communication perspective," said Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX Vice President of Launch, during a panel at the Spacepower Conference in Orlando.
These three flights are currently listed as the 107th, 108th and 109th orbital launches from Florida's Space Coast this year, extending the state's record after it surpassed the previous mark of 93 liftoffs.
Looking Ahead
SpaceX also has a Starlink mission targeted for Friday, Dec. 19. That Falcon 9 is scheduled to carry 29 Starlink internet satellites from Launch Complex 40 on a southeast trajectory, with a window from 12:00 a.m. to 3:17 a.m. No sonic booms are expected for that flight.
Watch Live: For live coverage of these launches, Florida Today’s Space Team will provide streaming updates starting about 90 minutes before each window opens at floridatoday.com/space.
Reporter: Rick Neale, Space Reporter, FLORIDA TODAY. Contact: Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
These missions highlight the growing cadence of commercial launches driven by demand for large low‑Earth‑orbit satellite constellations and increasing access to orbit from Florida’s Space Coast.
