SpaceX liftoff matches record for Space Coast launches in a year

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Space Coast saw its 72nd launch of the year on Wednesday evening, equaling the total number of orbital missions flown in 2023 and with 10 weeks still to go.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 had been aiming for a Tuesday liftoff, but weather in the recovery area for the booster forced a scrub.

Teams turned around and got the rocket off at 5:47 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, though, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 with its payload of 23 Starlink satellites.

The first-stage booster for this mission made its 18th flight and made another recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX has flown all but five of the 72 launches from either Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center. Of those, 65 have been the workhorse Falcon 9 while Elon Musk’s company has used only two Falcon Heavy rockets this year.

United Launch Alliance has been responsible for the rest flying two of its new Vulcan Centaur rockets, two Atlas V’s and the final Delta IV Heavy. ULA, though, has a third Vulcan Centaur already getting ready for its first national security mission for the U.S. Space Force.

Including California launches, SpaceX has flown its Falcon family of rockets 101 times while also having launched three of its in-development Starship and Super Heavy rockets from its Texas test launch facility Starbase.

The company had indicated at the year’s beginning it was trying to average 12 launches a month, or 144 for the year.

Space Coast launches make up the majority of those, and SpaceX, more ULA and possibly the first ever launch of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket could push the Space Coast launch total over 100 for the year.

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