Blue Origin knocked out a historic launch Thursday. United Launch Alliance served up another just over six hours later. Now SpaceX has a pair of launches slated for Friday night to cap what would be the busiest two days in Space Coast history.
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This all comes after the combined launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center surpassed the record 93 set in 2024.
After Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch on the NG-2 mission from Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 at 3:55 p.m. and ULA’s Atlas V launch on the ViaSat-3 F2 mission from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 41 at 10:04 p.m. Thursday, that total stands at 96.
SpaceX has a pair of Starlink launches, one from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A and one from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40, both slated for liftoff during launch windows that run from 10:10 p.m. to 2:01 a.m. Saturday.
Space Launch Delta 45, which supports launches on the Eastern Range, posted about surpassing 2024’s record early this week when a SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off Monday night.
“This milestone is a testament to the dedication, expertise and resilience of the entire Eastern Range
team,” said Col. Brian Chatman, commander, SLD 45. “Through investments in infrastructure modernization, streamlined processes and strengthened partnerships with commercial and international allies, we’ve been able to meet the growing demands of the space domain while maintaining readiness and responsiveness.”
The teams were busy despite the government shutdown, having supported 13 missions over the 43 days including two on Thursday.
Chatman warned the needs on the Space Coast to support such a frenetic launch pace are becoming more demanding.
“Sustaining this pace requires us to address a critical challenge: ensuring we have the personnel – the electrical engineers, the communication technicians, the payload integration specialists – needed to support this increased launch tempo. We need to support our missions, but we also must ensure the proper resources are available to support the personnel,” he said.
SLD 45’s role includes weather forecasts, launch specialists, range safety, security forces, firefighters and explosive ordnance disposal experts among others.
“Demonstrating a pace and precision unmatched globally, the Eastern Range stands as an unrivaled testament to coordinated effort, consistently achieving a pattern of historic success in enabling access to space,” the Space Force unit stated.
It touted launches from the Eastern Range nearly matched the launches performed by every other nation combined this year.
The majority of launches have been from SpaceX, which has flown all but seven. ULA has now flown five and Blue Origin has flown two. That includes launches from three launch pads on CCSFS and one at KSC. Teams also supported landings at Canaveral’s Landing Zones 1 and 2.
On top of that, booster recovery efforts with assistance from Port Canaveral have increased, with its three mobile harbor cranes busy supporting during its fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2024-Sept. 30, 2025 the return of 90 SpaceX boosters and 194 fairing (nosecone) halves, on top of support for other space companies’ hardware and payloads that arrived by ship.
Launches in 2026 and beyond could become even busier with NASA’s Space Launch System rocket slated to launch as early as February from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-B, the potential return of Relativity Space to Canaveral’s Launch Complex 16 with its Terran-R rocket and the arrival or new launch provider Stoke Space at Launch Complex 14 for its Nova rocket.
Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to build out infrastructure at the former Delta IV Heavy launch site at Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 37 for Starship and Super Heavy as well as at KSC’s Launch Complex 39-A, all while increasing the tempo of its Falcon 9 rockets, with up to 120 from SLC-40 and potentially 36 from LC 39-A.
ULA looks to ramp up to at least 24 launches a year from SLC-41 and Blue Origin is approved for up to 12 launches from LC 36.
At the offset of 2025, SLD 45 had stated it was ready to support up to 156 launches for the year. That number could easily become a reality in 2026.
“Every launch represents the dedication and professionalism of our Guardians, Airmen, civilian teammates, and mission partners who allow us to continue reaching new heights and setting new records by ensuring the Eastern Range remains ready to support national objectives and advance the United States’ space capabilities,” SLD 45 stated.
