Brevard County's Space Coast broke its annual rocket launch record in 2025 with 109 orbital missions, surpassing all previous totals. As of May 11, 2026, 32 launches have already taken place this year, including NASA's Artemis II mission in April that sent four astronauts on a lunar flyby. The Kennedy Space Center hosted the Artemis II launch, which marked the first crewed mission for NASA's Artemis program. United Launch Alliance also launched its Atlas V rocket in April, visible in multiple states, while SpaceX's Falcon Heavy and Blue Origin's New Glenn rockets made their own historic flights.
April 2026 was a busy month for the Space Coast, with launches from SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, and NASA. The Falcon Heavy launch produced two sonic booms across Brevard County, and Blue Origin's New Glenn became the company's third heavy-lift rocket launch. These events followed a record-breaking 2025, which saw 109 orbital launches, according to data from the Florida Today.
Rocket launches from Florida's Space Coast are sometimes visible as far north as Jacksonville Beach and as far south as West Palm Beach, depending on trajectory and weather. In some cases, launches have been spotted on Florida's West Coast and in other states. The visibility range depends on factors like cloud cover and the rocket's flight path.
The May launch schedule includes a focus on SpaceX Starlink satellite missions, though no launches occurred in the first week of the month. Viewers can watch NASA content through Amazon Prime Video. Specific launch times for the week of May 11 are being monitored, with updates expected as weather conditions develop.