SpaceX Surpasses Annual Launch Record With End of Year Mission Surge
SpaceX prepares to break its own annual launch record with a flurry of Falcon 9 missions scheduled before the end of 2021. The rapid acceleration comes after a brief lull caused by delays in producing the latest generation of Starlink satellites.
SpaceX accelerates its launch cadence to close out 2021, planning at least five more Falcon 9 flights before the end of December. A scheduled Nov. 24 mission from California ties the company's existing record of 26 annual flights, and a Dec. 1 launch officially breaks that milestone. This final push utilizes all three of SpaceX's active launch pads located in Florida and California.
The company experiences a noticeable slowdown in launch activity during the second half of the year due to delays in manufacturing a new generation of Starlink internet satellites. With the Starlink assembly line in Washington now producing these upgraded spacecraft at full capacity, SpaceX quickly resumes its rapid-fire launch schedule. Recent missions successfully carry both astronauts to the International Space Station and dozens of Starlink satellites into orbit.
The upcoming Nov. 24 record-tying flight departs from Vandenberg Space Force Base and carries NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft. This specialized payload heads out into the solar system to test planetary defense techniques. Overall, SpaceX currently operates a jam-packed schedule with potential openings for one or two additional Starlink missions before the calendar flips to 2022.