"Other storylines are also worth watching this year that didn't make the Top 20. Will SpaceX's Starship begin launching Starlink satellites? Will United Launch Alliance finally get its Vulcan rocket flying at a higher cadence? Will Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket be certified by the US Space Force? I'm looking forward to learning the answers to these questions, and more."
"The number of orbital launch attempts worldwide last year surpassed the record 2024 flight rate by 25 percent, with SpaceX and China accounting for the bulk of the launch activity, Aviation Week & Space Technology reports. Including near-orbital flight tests of SpaceX's Starship-Super Heavy launch system, the number of orbital launch attempts worldwide reached 329 last year, an annual analysis of global launch and satellite activity by Jonathan's Space Report shows. Of those 329 attempts, 321 reached orbit or marginal orbits."
SpaceX opened the 2026 launch campaign with a mission for the Italian government. The year began slowly on global launch pads, with only two SpaceX missions in the first week. Key storylines for 2026 include whether Starship will begin launching Starlink satellites, whether United Launch Alliance's Vulcan will fly at a higher cadence, and whether Blue Origin's New Glenn will be certified by the US Space Force. New launch records were set in 2025: orbital launch attempts worldwide rose 25 percent to 329 attempts, including Starship-Super Heavy tests, with 321 reaching orbit or marginal orbits. SpaceX launched 165 Falcon 9 rockets in 2025.
Read at Ars Technica
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