Early on the morning of Dec. 17, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with a group of Starlink satellites to provide internet to underserved areas. It was the 109th launch of the year breaking the record of 93 launches during the previous 12 months. As 2026 dawned, NASA also stands at the cusp of a new era of exploration as the agency prepares to renew human exploration of the Moon.
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.
During 2023, 72 rockets launched into the skies regularly rumbling windows along Florida’s Space Coast proving, again, that NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station have been established as America’s premier multi-user spaceport. The new record shattered the previous number set only last year during which 57 rockets lifted off.