A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 on Friday, May 29, 2026, carrying 29 Starlink satellites. The launch occurred the morning after a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on a pad farther south at the same facility, marking a tense start to a busy month for the Space Coast. The SpaceX mission proceeded without delay, highlighting the resilience of the region’s space industry despite the earlier incident.
The Space Coast ended 2025 with a record 109 orbital launches, the highest number in a single year, according to data compiled by local tracking groups. 2026 is on track to match or exceed that total, with 36 orbital launches already scheduled through May 29. This includes 31 from SpaceX, 3 from United Launch Alliance, 1 from Blue Origin, and 1 from NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis II mission. Two human spaceflights are also planned: SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission and NASA’s Artemis II lunar voyage.
Breaking down the numbers, 2025 saw 83 launches from Cape Canaveral and 26 from Kennedy Space Center, with SpaceX accounting for 101 of the 109 total missions. Blue Origin launched its New Glenn rocket twice, and ULA conducted six missions. In 2024, the Space Coast recorded 93 launches, including 88 from SpaceX and five from ULA. The trend shows steady growth, with 2023 seeing 72 launches and 2022 totaling 61.
The May 29 SpaceX launch followed a setback earlier in the week when Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a pre-launch test on May 28. No injuries were reported, but the incident delayed the company’s planned launch of its NG-3 mission. Despite the disruption, the Space Coast’s launch schedule remains robust, with SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, and NASA all active in the region. As of May 29, 2026, the Space Coast has already conducted 34 launches from Cape Canaveral and two from Kennedy Space Center this year.