When is the next rocket launch from Florida?

2023 a busy year for rocket launches on Space Coast

Spectators watch from a bridge in Titusville, Fla. as SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken in the Dragon crew capsule, Saturday, May 30, 2020 from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The two astronauts are on the SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. For the first time in nearly a decade, astronauts blasted towards orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil, a first for a private company. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Charlie Riedel, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Florida’s Space Coast is home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the busiest launch sites in the world.

This year, the spaceport is more crowded than ever as more commercial launch providers like Boeing, SpaceX, ULA and Astra deliver satellites and astronauts into low-Earth orbit.

[RELATED: Best spots to watch a rocket launch on Florida’s Space Coast]

We’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of upcoming Space Coast launches to keep you in the know.

Keep checking back because as most space enthusiasts know, launch schedules are subject to change due to weather, technical reasons and range restrictions.

I repeat: All launch dates are tentative!


Date: May TBD

Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9

Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company’s latest batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit.

Launch Window: TBD

Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station


Date: May 21

Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9

Mission: SpaceX will launch NASA’s second private astronaut flight to the International Space Station contracted with Axiom Space.

Launch Window: 5:37 p.m.

Location: Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center


Date: May TBD

Vehicle: Delta IV Heavy

Mission: A three-core United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Launch Window: TBD

Location: Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station


Date: TBD

Vehicle: ULA Vulcan Centaur

Mission: ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which will replace Atlas V to become the only vehicle in its fleet, will fly its inaugural mission from Cape Canaveral with Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander.

Launch Window: TBD

Location: Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station


Date: June 3

Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9

Mission: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station.

Launch Window: 12:35 p.m.

Location: Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center


Date: July 21

Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V

Mission: The first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Launch Window: TBD

Location: Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station


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About the Author:

Katrina Scales is a producer for the News 6+ Takeover at 5:30 p.m. She also writes and voices the podcast Your Florida Daily. Katrina was born and raised in Brevard County and started her journalism career in radio before joining News 6 in June 2021.