SpaceX Proposal Would More Than Double Falcon 9 Launches at Cape Canaveral

FAA releases draft environmental assessment evaluating the impact of increasing launches from 50 to 120 per year.

Jack Daleo

Friday, March 14, 2025 at 04:09 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in November 2021. [Courtesy: Joshua Conti/Space Launch Delta 45]

Key Takeaways:

SpaceX aims to significantly increase its Falcon 9 launch frequency across its facilities, projecting 170 launches in 2025.
The company proposes to more than double Falcon 9 launches from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), from 50 to 120 annually, and plans to build a new landing zone (LZ) at the site due to expiring licenses for existing pads.
Similar expansion plans are in motion for Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, which includes evaluating a new LZ, and Vandenberg Space Force Base, where SpaceX intends to double Falcon 9 launches from 50 to 100 per year.

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SpaceX, the world’s dominant commercial space launch provider, is looking to ramp up the activity of its workhorse rocket.

The FAA on Friday released a draft environmental assessment (EA) analyzing the company’s proposal to more than double the number of Falcon 9 launches from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, from 50 to 120. To facilitate the increased cadence, SpaceX proposes building a new Falcon 9 landing zone (LZ) at SLC-40 to return the two-stage rocket’s reusable first stage.