All articles tagged with #cape canaveral
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying 29 Starlink satellites; the first-stage booster later landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic, as spectators from Florida to the Carolinas captured sightings of the glowing plume and SpaceX released post-launch video.
SpaceX will launch Starlink 10-49 on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, using booster B1067 on its 37th flight to deploy 29 satellites; the booster is slated to land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, and this could be the last Starlink flight from Cape Canaveral for a while as the company shifts focus to Starship preparations, with the majority of Starlink missions this year having flown from Vandenberg.
SpaceX is slated to launch a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral carrying 29 Starlink satellites in what will be the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the booster B1067’s 37th mission; the first stage is expected to land on a drone ship about 8.5 minutes after liftoff and the upper stage will deploy the satellites roughly 61.5 minutes later, underscoring SpaceX’s ongoing focus on rapid reuse as the Starlink constellation expands beyond 11,000 satellites and Starship’s orbital test is anticipated later this year.
Trump’s new national space transportation policy directs NASA and the Pentagon to boost launch and reentry capacity to 1,000+ per year by 2030 by identifying additional federal lands for new spaceports and reentry sites, improving range scheduling and airspace management, and pursuing a third heavy-lift site for resiliency. It also supports expeditionary/rapid-launch concepts and streamlined permitting, with SpaceX expanding Starship pads at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy as part of growing private-sector capacity.
SpaceX is set to launch its 75th Starlink mission of 2026 from Cape Canaveral, delivering 29 satellites on Starlink 10-39 and marking the year’s 2,000nd Starlink satellite; the Falcon 9 booster B1078 will fly for the 30th time and aim for a drone-ship landing on A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, with liftoff scheduled at 11:38 a.m. EDT and an initial 80% weather window (falling to 40% as storms approach).
Blue Origin plans to revive Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 as a dual-pad facility to support the larger New Glenn 9x4 rocket, with a new Vertical Integration Facility and Payload Processing Facility to be built nearby. The move follows May’s explosion that damaged LC-36, and the company says it will need up to about 2,500 tons of steel for a new launch tower; repairs to LC-36A are targeted to allow the 7x2 to return by year’s end, but there’s no announced timeline for LC-36B or the 9x4 debut.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying Globalstar 2-R; the first stage, in its 14th flight, is slated to return to Landing Zone 40 for a nearby landing, with twin sonic booms expected over the Space Coast as live updates cover liftoff, fueling, countdown milestones, and post-launch booster operations.
Blue Origin will rebuild LC-36A and add a new LC-36B pad at Cape Canaveral to support a larger New Glenn 9×4, including a vertical integration facility and a payload processing facility; LC-36A will host the current New Glenn 7×2, while no schedule was provided for the 9×4. The company is transitioning to a horizontal/vertical hybrid CONOPS and has been testing vertical stacking at LC-11, with the Space Force having previously awarded $78.2 million for the payload facility. Rebuilding LC-36A and returning to flight this year remains the priority, according to Blue Origin executives.
SpaceX scrubbed Monday’s Falcon 9 liftoff from Cape Canaveral for the Starlink 10-19 mission and will now attempt on Aug. 11 at 10:26 a.m. EDT. Booster B1085 is slated to land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas after an ~8-minute ascent; weather is forecast favorable with cumulus cloud rule as the main concern. This would mark the 72nd Starlink flight of the year and the 93rd Falcon 9 flight in 2026.
SpaceX launched the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s secret NROL-95 satellite from Cape Canaveral on July 30, 2026, using a Falcon 9; payload details remain classified, and the mission patch features a ferret with the slogan 'We are the Champions.' The first stage returned to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, and SpaceX reportedly ended the livestream at the NRO’s request. NROL-95 is the fourth NRO launch of 2026, part of a broader plan for a proliferated constellation of small, cost-efficient satellites.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral for the NROL-95 mission, and the first-stage booster returned to Landing Zone 2, generating a sonic boom on the Space Coast. It marks the NRO’s first Cape Canaveral launch this year and a second collaboration with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command, with the booster on its seventh flight. The mission patch features a ferret, and Weather was forecast around 70% favorable as countdowns and livestream coverage proceeded.
SpaceX will launch Northrop Grumman’s MRV-MEP spacecraft from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9, with about 90% favorable weather and a 5:15 p.m. ET liftoff; MRV-MEP is described as a versatile 'Swiss Army Knife' for satellites, capable of inspection, repairs, life extension, debris removal, and deploying pods, plus sensors or countermeasures to boost satellite resilience.
SpaceX launched a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster for the 600th time on the Starlink 10-45 mission from Cape Canaveral SLC-40. The B1080 booster flew its 28th flight, placing 29 more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit and bringing SpaceX’s constellation total to over 10,800. The first stage landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, marking the 161st landing on that vessel and the 638th booster landing overall for SpaceX. Weather forecasts predicted favorable conditions with only a slight risk of lingering clouds and lightning potential.
SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral in the early hours of July 9, 2026 (5:25 a.m. EDT). The rocket’s exhaust cooled and froze into ice crystals, creating a spectacular plume that, when lit by sunrise, looked like a glowing jellyfish in the night sky. It’s a natural byproduct of rocket launches, not an extraterrestrial visitation.
SpaceX will launch its most-flown Falcon 9 booster, B1067, for the 36th time on the Starlink 10-42 mission from Cape Canaveral, deploying 29 satellites; liftoff is scheduled for 5:25 a.m. EDT with a landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic. Weather is forecast to be favorable (about 90%); minor concerns include cumulus clouds and Saharan dust potentially suppressing cloud formation.