Premier Multi-user Spaceport Concludes Record-Breaking Year

January 16, 2025

Last year’s record of 72 launches was shattered with 93 rockets lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during 2024. A banner just outside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex tracks the number of rockets launching throughout the year. — Last year’s record of 72 launches was shattered with 93 rockets lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during 2024. A banner just outside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex tracks the number of rockets launching throughout the year. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

By Bob Granath

As 2024 came to a close, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaked into the pre-dawn skies over Florida’s Space Coast on Dec. 31 marking the 93rd liftoff of the year. It broke the record of 72 set the year before and shattered the mark of 57 in 2022. During the peak of NASA’s Gemini Program, the previous record was 33 launched in 1966 during the lead up to the Apollo lunar landing effort.

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket sits on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 41 at sunset Space prior to the Jan. 8, 2024 first certification launch with the Peregrine Lunar Lander. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance/Ben Cooper

During the past 12 months, three crews were launched to the International Space Station, a weather satellite was placed in Earth orbit, NASA is moving closer to returning astronauts to the Moon and spacecraft were sent to explore the outer reaches of the solar system. The increased traffic is an example of the agency’s Kennedy Space Center with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station now firmly established as the world’s premier multi-user spaceport.

When the Space Shuttle Program concluded, then Kennedy Space Center director Bob Cabana developed a comprehensive vision to meet the emerging needs of both the civil and commercial space industries in the years ahead. He and his center leadership team began looking to the future by developing an innovative concept for the historic Florida launch site: a new multi-user spaceport.

“We looked at the landscape, searching for the best way to use the available assets,” said then Deputy Center Director Janet Petro. She was named center director on June 30, 2021. “We realized we needed to change our focus from a big government, NASA-only space center to the agency partnering with others.”

This new vision sparked a commercial space revolution at the Florida spaceport.

“We have achieved the goal of building a multi-user space launch complex with modernized infrastructure for more cost-effective operations, serving multiple users,” Cabana said.

One factor increasing traffic is the introduction of new launch vehicles.

ULA’s Vulcan

On Oct. 4, 2024, the second United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral on the Cert-2 flight test. — *On Oct. 4, 2024, the second United Launch Alliance Vulcan lifts off. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance/Ben Cooper*

Twice during 2024, United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral. On Jan. 8, a Vulcan launched its first certification mission, the Cert-1 flight test, with the Peregrine Lunar Lander. While the spacecraft experienced propulsion problems preventing a successful landing, this was the first American commercial lander sent to the lunar surface.

The Vulcan rocket is 202 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter and can have as many as six strap-on solid rocket boosters with 1.1 million pounds of thrust. On Oct. 4, 2024, a Vulcan successfully launched the second mission from the Cape, a requirement for ULA’s certification process with the U.S. Space Force. The Cert-2 mission included an inert payload and demonstrations associated with future Centaur V upper stage technologies.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn

The first 322-foot tall New Glenn sits on at Launch Complex 36 on Dec. 27, 2024. — *The first 322-foot tall New Glenn rocket sits on at Launch Complex 36 on Dec. 27, 2024. Photo credit: Blue Origin*

With a sprawling industrial complex outside the gates of Kennedy, Blue Origin is preparing for the inaugural launch of its powerful New Glenn rocket. It features a two-stage design to accommodate a variety of payloads. At 322-feet tall and 23-feet in diameter, New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle with 3,850,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff.

According to Blue Origin’s website, “With twice the volume of smaller, five-meter class payload fairings, customers have more flexibility to package their payload in new ways.” The rocket will launch from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36, and eventually, future missions are planned to liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

*Generating 3,850,000 pounds of thrust, Blue Origin’s first New Glenn rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 16, 2025. Photo credit: Blue Origin*

Named for John Glenn, America’s first astronaut to orbit the Earth, New Glenn includes a reusable first stage designed for a minimum of 25 flights. It will return touching down vertically, similar to the Falcon 9. The Mercury astronaut and former U.S. Senator gave his permission to use his name on the rocket in 2016, noting that he was “deeply touched” that the launch vehicle would fly with his name.

“As the original Glenn, I can tell you I see the day coming when people will board spacecraft the same way millions of us now board jetliners,” he said. Glenn added that he was impressed by the reusability of the first stage “to get to space more often and more inexpensively.”

Three Crews Launched to the ISS

A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off March 3, 2024 with three Americans and one Russian for a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Ongoing research aboard the orbital laboratory is designed to benefit humans living on and off the Earth.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is prepared for liftoff on from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The four Crew-8 astronauts began a mission to the International Space Station on March 3, 2024. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChrnicle.com/Bob Granath

Crew-8 astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin conducted scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for NASA’s future human exploration efforts. Experiments included using stem cells to create organoid models to study degenerative diseases, as well as research into the effects of microgravity and ultraviolet radiation on plants at a cellular level.

In a crucial milestone for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner launched on June 5, 2024. The agency now has a second vehicle to send astronauts from American soil to and from the International Space Station. With two NASA astronauts aboard, the Crew Flight Test (CFT) lifted off atop a ULA Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral.

Viewed from the roof of the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard, lifts off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5, 2024. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams worked to validate the new transportation system checking out its operational capabilities during rendezvous and docking with the space station. But, as the Starliner approached the orbiting complex a day later, NASA and Boeing engineers detected helium leaks and experienced other issues with the spacecraft reaction control steering thrusters.

“The uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, thus prompting NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew-9 mission,” NASA officials said in a statement. As a result, Wilmore and Williams remain aboard the space station through March 2025 as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew supporting station research.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, left, and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, wave to friends and family as they depart the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on June 5, 2024. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

“Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our ‘North Star.’ I’m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work.”

Boeing’s Starliner safely returned to Earth uncrewed on Sept. 7, landing at NASA’s White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. NASA and Boeing engineers now are working to resolve the problems experienced during the CFT, clearing the way for its next mission to the space station.

On Sept. 28, 2024, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia. The Crew-9 mission is ongoing as a six-month stay aboard the space station. Launching the Crew Dragon with two unoccupied seats is part of the agency’s decision to return the Boeing Crew Flight Test Starliner spacecraft uncrewed, demonstrating the flexibility of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Tracking Weather

On June 25, 2024, NASA launched a 6,000-pound weather satellite for NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket sent the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U, or GOES-U, to orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChronicle.com/Bob Granath

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) launched June 25, 2024, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft is the last of the GOES series and carries seven instruments that collect advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements, provide real-time mapping of lightning activity and detect approaching space weather hazards.

Since GOES is in a geostationary orbit at 26,199 miles above the Earth, it has an orbital period equal to Earth’s rotational period, one day, appearing motionless, in a fixed position in the sky. The satellite’s Advanced Baseline Imager now is photographing the Earth’s weather, ocean and environment. Forecasters can use the data for a wide range of applications to study severe weather, hurricanes, natural hazards, the atmosphere, ocean and cryosphere — frozen parts of Earth, including snow, ice and frozen ground.

The Geostationary Lightning Mapper is the first operational system flown in geostationary orbit to chart thunderstorms. Developing severe storms often exhibit a significant increase in lightning activity. This data can help forecasters focus on storm development, and intensifying severe weather before it produces damaging winds, hail or tornadoes.

Return to the Moon

As part of an integrated ground systems test at Kennedy Space Center, Artemis II NASA astronauts, form the left, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen stand in the white room on the crew access arm of the mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, Nova-C Moon lander carried multiple payloads including Lunar Node-1, demonstrating autonomous navigation via radio beacon to support precise geolocation and navigation among lunar orbiters, landers and surface personnel. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative launched from Kennedy on Feb. 15, 2024 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket landing on the Moon seven days later. The partnership with Intuitive Machines, made history when the Nova C-class lunar lander touched down on the Moon’s South Pole region.

“NASA scientific instruments are on their way to the Moon – a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century,” said Administrator Nelson after the liftoff. “These daring Moon deliveries will not only conduct new science at the Moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation.”

In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 19, 2024, an overhead crane hoists the left aft assembly, or bottom portion of the solid rocket boosters, for stacking on the mobile launcher. The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is in the foreground awaiting attachment between the twin solid rocket boosters. — In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 19, 2024, an overhead crane hoists the left aft assembly, or bottom portion of a solid rocket booster, for stacking on the mobile launcher. The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is in the foreground awaiting attachment between the twin solid rocket boosters. Photo credit: NASA/Kevin Davis

This group of NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations are designed to provide a better understanding of the lunar surface environment and test technologies for future landers during the agency’s Artemis Program. The effort is designed to pave the way for landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon for long-term presence for science and exploration.

In 2026, NASA will renew human exploration beyond Earth as four Artemis II astronauts travel to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Aboard an Orion spacecraft, the crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will loop beyond the lunar surface venturing farther away than humans ever traveled.

The core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System Moon rocket for Artemis II arrived July 24, 2024. The Pegasus barge ferried it to Kennedy from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The 212-foot-tall core stage then was transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

On Nov. 20, engineers and technicians with Kennedy’s Exploration Ground Systems Program began stacking of the first solid rocket boosters segment for Artemis II onto mobile launcher 1 inside the VAB.

Solar System Exploration

NASA’s Europa Clipper undergoes electromagnetic testing in High Bay 1 at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Jan. 19, 2024. — *NASA’s Europa Clipper undergoes electromagnetic testing in High Bay 1 at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California on Jan. 19, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech*

NASA’s Europa Clipper is the agency’s first mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Scientists hope to see if the ocean beneath the crust has the ingredients to support life. The spacecraft launched Oct. 16, 2024 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles to reach Jupiter in April 2030. It will orbit Jupiter and conduct 49 close flybys of Europa.

“We could not be more excited for the incredible and unprecedented science NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will deliver in the generations to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Everything in NASA science is interconnected, and Europa Clipper’s scientific discoveries will build upon the legacy that our other missions exploring Jupiter — including Juno, Galileo and Voyager — created in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”

New Commercial Resupply Spacecraft

Sierra Space’s uncrewed Dream Chaser cargo spaceplane is processed inside the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center May 20, 2024. Dream Chaser’s inaugural launch atop a United Launch Alliance Vulcan will take place in early 2025. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

In early 2025, a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket will send Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser 1 to the International Space Station. The Dream Chaser is a lifting body resupply spacecraft looking like a smaller version of the Space Shuttle returning to Earth landing on a runway. Lift off will take place from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser arrived at Kennedy on May 18, 2024 following testing at the agency’s Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Once launched, the uncrewed cargo spaceplane will deliver thousands of pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members stand in front of a Falcon 9 first-stage inside SpaceX’s HangarX at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. From left are Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos. — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members stand in front of a Falcon 9 first-stage inside SpaceX’s HangarX at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. From left are Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos. Photo credit: SpaceX

The next commercial astronauts destined to the International Space Station is Crew-10. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia are due to lift off in late March. Following their arrival, members of the Crew-9 mission, Hague and Gorbunov, along with Wilmore and Williams, will return to Earth.

“Operations in 2025 are a testament to NASA’s workforce carefully planning and preparing to safely execute a vital string of missions that the agency can depend on,” said Dana Hutcherson, Commercial Crew Program deputy program manager. “This is the 25th year of crewed operations for the space station, and we know that with every launch, we are sustaining a critical national asset and enabling groundbreaking research.”