Rocket Launch Schedule 2020

If you ever get the opportunity to watch the launch of a rocket then you do not want to miss it; it is an experience of a lifetime. Words cannot describe the sounds of a rocket blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center.

Kennedy Space Center Launch Sites

The Kennedy Space Center is actually two launch sites, the civilian NASA Kennedy Space Center and the military Cape Canaveral Space Force Station which make up part of the “Eastern Range” overseen by the 45th Space Wing that also looks after nearby Patricks Space Force Base. Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is the headquarters of the “Western Range”.

In late 2020 the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station became the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patricks Air Force Base became Patricks Space Force Base

2020 Florida Rocket Launch Highlights

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida had a great year launching rockets. There were 31 launches in total, most of them from SpaceX.

SpaceX Rocket Launches

SpaceX started the new year with two autonomous spaceport drone ships (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You” and “Just Read The Instructions” based on the east coast along with two fairing recovery vessels “Ms. Tree” and “Ms. Chief”.

This now gives SpaceX the potential to recover up to two Falcon 9 boosters on land and two at sea at any one time.

2020 started out looking like a busy year for SpaceX with the possibility of over 30 launches, many of them being the new Starlink missions where 60 small satellites are launched each time as part of a global internet service. In the end, SpaceX achieved a total of 26 launches for the year, a record for SpaceX. Of the 26 launches, 25 were from Florida, the other one being from California.

2020 also brought another major milestone for SpaceX with the successful 100th launch of a Falcon series rocket since the start in 2008. 95 of those missions had been with the current generation Falcon 9s. During that time there were 63 successful recoveries of the first stage.

Both SpaceX and Boeing hoped 2020 would bring the first crewed launches of their crew capsules to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) ending reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. In May, SpaceX fulfilled that ambition with the first human launch from US soil to the ISS in 9 years but Boeing will have to wait until 2021 for their first crewed launch.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) Rocket Launches

In 2020 ULA successfully launch five Atlas V missions and one Delta IV Heavy mission.

Blue Origin Rocket Launches

Blue Origin is to use launch pad LC-36 and also intend to recover their New Glenn rocket in Florida starting in 2021. In preparation for that they have purchased a secondhand ship called the “Stena Freighter” which is being modified in Pensacola. It is being converted into a mobile landing platform.

Firefly Aerospace Rocket Launches

A small-to-medium sized rocket builder, Firefly Aerospace are establishing a factory with a view to launching its Alpha and Beta rockets from SLC 20 (former Titan) launchpad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Relativity Space Rocket Launches

Another former Titan and Pershing missile launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, LC-16 is the new home of Relativity Space. They had intended to launch small satellites up to 2,750 pounds (1,250 kg) by the end of 2020 using their 3-D printed Terran 1 rocket but the launch date has slipped.

Complete 2020 Florida Rocket Launch Schedule

This page details the historical launches in 2020. Click here for previous launch details for 2019 and launch details for 2021.

All times are local times.

Abbreviations:

• EDT — Eastern Daylight Time
• EST — Eastern Standard Time (during the winter months)

January 6, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 3

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 2nd batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 9:19 p.m. EST and the first stage booster (B1049) successfully landed on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You”. The booster had successfully launched and been recovered three times before this launch.

Delayed from November 4 and late December, 2019, January 3, 2020.

January 18, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an unmanned Crew Dragon spacecraft on a critical in-flight abort test (IFA) to prove that astronauts could be safely rescued in the event of a failure during launch.

The first stage booster (B1046) was the first Block 5 Falcon 9 booster and had flown three times before. It was expected to be destroyed during the test as the abort was set to happen around Max Q, during peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket. SpaceX were not planning to try and land it and had even removed the grid fins and landing legs.

About 84 seconds into the flight at an altitude of around 65,000 feet, the nine Merlin engines were shut down and the Super Draco thrusters in the crew capsule ignited to push the capsule to safety. The Falcon 9 first stage booster broke up and exploded in a huge fireball under the extreme aerodynamic load. B1046 was the third Block 5 booster to achieve four launches.

The Crew Dragon capsule then descended by parachutes to a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean where it was recovered.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A and the four hour launch window opened at 8:00 a.m. EST.

The launch could have taken place as early as April 2019 but was more likely to be May/June as it was dependent upon the refurbishment of the capsule from the Crew Dragon DM-1 Demonstration Mission 1.

Unfortunately there was an explosion during an engine test on April 20, 2019 and the capsule was destroyed. SpaceX allocated an alternative capsule for the test which successfully completed a ground test firing of the Super Draco thrusters on November 13, 2019.

January 29, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 4

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 3rd batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 9:06 a.m. EST.

The first stage booster (B1051) successfully landed on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You”. This booster has now successfully launched and been recovered three times.

The recovery ship “Ms. Tree” successfully caught one half of the payload fairing whilst the other ship “Ms. Chief” nearly caught the other half.

Delayed from January 24, 27 and 28 due to high upper level winds and bad weather in the offshore landing area.

February 9, 2020 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket, Solar Orbiter

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched the Solar Orbiter (SolO) probe for the European Space Agency to measure the inner heliosphere and nascent solar wind and provide the closest ever views of the Sun.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a launch window of 11:03 p.m. to 1:03 a.m. EST.

Delayed from July 2017, October 2018, February 2019 and February 5, 2020.

February 17, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 5

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 4th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

This was the third Starlink launch in 2020 and brings the total number of Starlink broadband satellites to 300.

The first stage booster (B1056) had already flown three times and SpaceX attempted to recover it again on board the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You” for the fourth time. Unfortunately is narrowly missed the barge on landing, believed to be caused by unexpected high winds.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 10:04 a.m. EST.

Delayed from February 15 and 16, 2020.

March 6, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS 20

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 22nd Dragon spacecraft. The purpose of the mission was to take the 20th resupply cargo load to the International Space Station. Amongst the cargo was the Bartolomeo external platform.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 11:50 p.m. EST.

SpaceX recovered the first stage booster (B1059) back at Cape Canaveral, marking the 50th successful recovery of a first stage booster and the second flight for this booster.

Delayed from October 15, 2019 and March 2, 2020.

This was the last mission of the original phase 1 Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract and the last ever flight of the original Dragon 1 spacecraft.

A further six resupply cargo missions are planned between 2020 and 2024 as part of the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. These will use modified versions of the Dragon 2 Crew spacecraft without the SuperDraco abort engines, seats, control and life support systems and will be capable of automated docking.

Whilst the Dragon 1 spacecraft were certified to fly up to three missions, the Dragon 2 are expected to be able to fly at least five missions.

SpaceX will also launch another six crew missions as part of the ISS Crew Transportation Services program (CTS).

March 18, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink L6 (V1 L5)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 5th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 8:16 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from January, February 14, March 4, 11 and 15, 2020.

Booster B1048 became the first Block 5 Falcon 9 to complete 5 launches.

One of the nine Merlin engines of the first stage booster cut out prematurely during launch but the other engines were able to compensate and the primary mission was a success. However during the landing phase, contact was lost with the booster and it failed to land on the barge.

The previous launch attempt was scrubbed at T-0 because one engine was reading higher than expected thrust levels. It has not been confirmed whether this was the engine that subsequently failed or whether it had anything to do with the failed landing. SpaceX subsequently discovered that the engine failure was due to an improper engine cleaning procedure of one of the Merlin 1D engines.

Both fairing halves were recovered from the ocean.

March 26, 2020 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket, AEHF-6

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched the 6th Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite for the U.S. military.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 at 4:18 p.m. with a launch window of 2:57 to 4:57 p.m. EDT.

Delayed from March 13 and 19, 2020.

April 22, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 7

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 6th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg). Including the initial v0.9 satellites, SpaceX has now launched 422 Starlink satellites.

Booster B1051 had already flown three times before and is the sixth Falcon 9 first stage booster to have flown four times. Both payload fairings were also pre-flown on the Amos-17 mission in August of last year.

It successfully landed on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You”.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 3:30 p.m. EDT.

Delayed from April 16, 2020.

May 17, 2020 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket, USSF 7 (X-37B OTV-6)

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched one of the two top-secret reusable Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles (OTV) for the U.S. Space Force (USSF) on its 6th mission. The mission was previously known as AFSPC-7.

The payload includes two NASA space environment experiments; one to evaluate the reaction of different materials to space and one to study ambient radiation on seeds. There is a also a small FalconSAT-8 satellite built by cadets at the US Air Force Academy and an experiment to convert solar power into a radio frequency microwave beam designed by the US Naval Research Laboratory.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a launch window from 9:14 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from December 2019 and moved up from May 20, 2020. Delayed from May 16 due to bad weather.

May 30, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Crew Dragon DM-2 Demonstration Mission 2

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft (C206) on a manned demo flight to the International Space Station (ISS).

It is the first ever Crew Dragon manned flight, with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken.

This historic flight is the first time in nine years that astronauts have launched from US soil since the Space Shuttle programme was halted in 2011. The last flight of Atlantis arrived at the ISS on July 10, 2011.

The brand new first stage booster (B1058) carried the iconic stylised retro red “worm” NASA logotype, last used in 1992 and was successfully recovered on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You”.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A at 3:22 p.m. EDT.

During the 19 hour flight to the ISS it was announced that the spacecraft would be christened “Endeavour” after its namesake, the retired NASA space shuttle that is now displayed at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

The name Endeavour was also used for Apollo 15’s command module and HMS Endeavour was the name of the 18th-century research sailing ship sailed by British explorer James Cook.

On July 17, NASA announced that astronauts Hurley and Behnken would stay at the ISS until August 1. The Crew Dragon capsule would then splashdown the following day in the Atlantic Ocean on its return to Earth.

On August 1, after 64 days at the ISS, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken undocked from the ISS for their return to Earth. Due to Hurricane Isaias, the splashdown recovery zone was moved to the Gulf of Mexico, close to Pensacola with a secondary backup zone near Panama City.

The SpaceX recovery ship “Go Navigator” supported by two fast boats transitioned from the Atlantic to the Gulf in preparation for the successful landing at 2:48 p.m. EDT. After touchdown, Go Navigator hoisted the Crew Dragon capsule onto its deck before the two astronauts exited the capsule. The intention is to refurbish the capsule at Cape Canaveral for a future mission in the Spring of 2021.

This launch signalled several milestones for SpaceX:

• it is the first time SpaceX have launched humans into space and recovered them back to Earth.
• it is the first time a commercial rocket has carried astronauts to the ISS
• unlike the Cargo Dragon capsule the Crew Dragon is able to autonomously dock with the ISS using the new International Docking Adapter
• the spacecraft only has about 30 switches and is primarily controlled via three large touchscreens
• the two man crew wore SpaceX spacesuits designed by Hollywood designer Jose Fernandez in collaboration with NASA
• the mission was controlled by SpaceX’s own mission control in Hawthorne, California

Delayed from December 2016, May, July, August and November 2017, December 2018, June, July 25 and September 21, 2019, February and April and May 7, 2020.

Delayed just 20 minutes from lift off on May 27, 2020 due to bad weather remnants of Tropical Storm Bertha.

June 3, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 7

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 8th batch of 60 Starlink satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Some of the latest batch have been fitted with a VisorSat “sun visor” to block sunlight and hence help reduce the observable glare from Earth. Astronomers have voiced concern about the reflective glare from the satellites disrupting celestial observations.

Including the initial v0.9 development batch, this launch brings the total operational Starlink satellite count to around 475 (out of 480, a few have failed since initial launch).

This launches booster (B1049) is the second booster to have launched five times. Because SpaceX’s primary autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You” was returning from sea with the Crew Dragon demo booster, SpaceX deployed their second ASDS, the recently upgraded “Just Read The Instructions” for recovery.

This is a new record for orbital class rockets with five successful launches and recoveries and was almost 10 years to the day from the first ever Falcon 9 rocket launch.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 9:25 p.m. EDT.

Delayed from May 7, 17, 18 and 19, 2020 due to slippage of the preceding Atlas V OTV-6 launch, the passage of Tropical Storm Arthur and the first manned Crew Dragon demo flight.

June 13, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 8/SkySats 16–18

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 9th batch of 58 Starlink satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg). This brings the total Starlinks launched to 538.

This launch also marks the start of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare missions where small satellites can be “piggy-backed” with other payloads.

Also sharing the payload on this flight are three small SkySat high resolution Earth-observing satellites (SkySat 16, 17 and 18) built by Maxar for Planet. They were launched into low earth orbit. A further three will launch on an upcoming Starlink launch in the summer.

Because of the inclusion of the three SkySat satellites, only 58 Starlink satellites instead of the usual 60 are including in this mission.

The first stage booster (B1059) has flown twice before and the two payload fairings are also being re-used.

The booster was successfully recovered after landing on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) “Of Course I Still Love You” positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.

Though both fairings missed being caught by the two recovery vessels, they made a successful splashdown in the ocean and were recovered.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 5:21 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from late May 2020 as other missions were pushed back and June 12, 2020.

June 30, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, GPS 3 SV03

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 3rd third-generation GPS satellite built by Lockheed Martin in their first dedicated mission for the new U.S. Space Force.

This launch used a brand new first stage booster (B1060) and SpaceX had negotiated with the military to fly a slightly different profile so they could attempt to recover the first stage.

The recovery was successful when the booster touched down on the ASDS “Just Read The Instructions” positioned in the Atlantic, nearly 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The two fairing recovery ships planned to retrieve the fairings from the water, not try to catch them in their nets.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window from 3:55 to 4:10 p.m. EDT.

Delayed from October and December 2019, January, March and April 29, 2020.

Several missions have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic

July 20, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, ANASIS-II

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the ANASIS-II (KMilSatCom 1) military communications satellite for South Korea built by Airbus Defence and Space in France.

This launch re-used booster B1058 which successfully launched the first crewed Dragon spacecraft on Crew Dragon DM-2 Demonstration Mission 2 just 51 days ago. This is a new SpaceX record for turning around a previously flown first stage booster.

It then made a successful landing on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions” moored in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, both fairing halves were successfully captured in the nets of the two recovery ships, another first for SpaceX.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window from 5:00 to 10:50 p.m. EDT.

Delayed from November 2019 and July 14, 2020.

NET July 30, 2020 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket, Mars 2020

The Atlas V rocket launched the Mars 2020 rover project to land on the red planet. The new rover called “Perseverance” is based on the Curiosity rover but with a new payload and is expected to reach Mars in February 2021.

For the landing, it will use the same “sky crane” manoeuvre that was used for the descent of NASA’s Curiosity rover onto the surface of Mars in August 2012.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a launch window from 7:50 to 9:50 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from July 17, 20 and 22, 2020

August 7, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 9/BlackSky Global 5–6

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 10th batch of 57 Starlink satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Like the previous Starlink mission, this mission was also a rideshare with a pair of Earth-observing satellites (BlackSky Global 5 and 6) manufactured by LeoStella and operated by BlackSky Global.

The first stage booster (B1051) was another veteran with four previous flights under its belt and after lift off it successfully landed on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of around 1:14 a.m. EDT.

The total number of Starlink satellites launched is now 595.

Moved up from June 24, then delayed from June 23, 25 and 26, July 8, 11 and 31, August 6, 2020.

August 18, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 10/SkySats 19–21

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 11th batch of 58 Starlink satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg) and brings the total launched to date to around 653.

Again this mission was also a rideshare with a trio of small SkySat high resolution Earth-observing satellites (SkySat 19, 20 and 21) built by Maxar for Planet.

The first stage booster (B1049) is another veteran with five previous flights under its belt, once in 2018, twice in 2019 and already twice in 2020 on previous Starlink missions. The fairing halves had also flown before.

B1049 is now the most flown booster in the SpaceX fleet are making another successful landing at sea on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You”, positioned about 350 miles northeast of the Cape.

SpaceX also successfully recovered both halves of the payload fairing, one made a soft landing in the water and the other was captured by the net of “GO Ms. Tree”, one of the two recovery boats.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of around 10:31 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from late July, 2020.

August 30, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, SAOCOM 1B

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SAOCOM1B (Satélite Argentino de Observación COn Microondas) Earth observation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite for Argentina’s space agency CONAE.

There was two additional smaller payloads; the Gnomes-1 (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Navigation and Occultation Measurement Satellite) weather data satellite operated by PlanetiQ and Tyvak 0172, built by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

At one time the second additional payload was going to be the Capella 2 (Sequoia) earth observation SAR microsatellite built by Capella Space but when the launch was delayed from March 2020, Capella switched to Rocket Labs in New Zealand. Two further Capella satellites are scheduled for SpaceX rideshare launches later in 2020.

This flight used booster B1059 which had flown three previous missions.

The SAOCOM1B satellite was originally scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California but SpaceX has reduced the number of launches from Vandenberg and are concentrating on Florida.

Because of its unusual southerly polar trajectory after launch, SpaceX recovered the booster back on land at Cape Canaveral Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). This is the first southerly polar launch from Kennedy since 1969.

Launch was from launchpad SLC-40 with a launch time is 7:18 p.m. EDT.

Delayed from quarter 4, 2019, January, February, March 30 (due to coronavirus pandemic), July 25 and August 28, 2020.

Originally it was planned to launch three rockets in the space of 48 hours but the Delta IV Heavy launch on August 29 was aborted just seconds before liftoff and then bad weather prevented the morning launch of the first SpaceX rocket, the Starlink mission.

September 3, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 11

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 12th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Booster B1060 had flown on one previous mission and successfully landed on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” several hundred miles east of Charleston, South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 8:46 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from August 30, 2020 due to bad weather. A second SpaceX Falcon 9 was due to launch in the evening from launch pad SLC-40. Delayed again from September 1, 2020.

October 6, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 12

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 13th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Booster B1058 had already made two successful launches this year as has one of the two payload fairing halves.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 7:29 a.m. EDT.

The booster was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX also captured one of the two payload fairing halves.

Delayed from September 17 because of a “recovery” issue and then September 18 due to bad weather in the recovery zone. Delayed from September 26, due to pushback on the Delta 4 Heavy launch date.

Delayed from September 28 due to a weather violation and then on October 1 the launch was aborted at T-18 seconds due to an “out of family” ground sensor reading.

Delayed again on October 5 due to a weather violation.

October 18, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L13

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 14th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

The booster was B1051 which had already made five flights and both fairing halves had already flown twice before. The booster was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 8:25 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from October 10.

October 24, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L14

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 15th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

The booster was B1060 which had already made two previous flights. It was successfully recovered to SpaceX’s second ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 11:31 a.m. EDT.

Delayed from October 21 and 22, 2020.

November 5, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, GPS 3 SV04

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 4th third-generation GPS satellite for the U.S. Air Force.

This flight used a brand new first stage booster (B1062).

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with at the start of the 15 minute launch window from 6:24 to 6:39 p.m. EDT.

The booster was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean and will be re-used on the next GPS launch in 2021.

Delayed from October and December 2019, May, July and August 2020. Delayed from September 30 due to conflicts with the Delta launch.

Delayed from October 2 when launch was aborted at T-2 seconds during the engine startup sequence as a result of a Merlin engine fault. Delayed from November 3, 2020.

November 13, 2020 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket, NROL-101

The Atlas V rocket launched a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

This was the first launch of an Atlas 5 with Northrop Grumman GEM-63 solid rocket motors. Previous Atlas 5 rockets have used Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket motors.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a launch time of 5:32 p.m. EST.

Delayed from September and October, 2020. Delayed from November 3, 2020 due to an upper payload environmental control system flow rate reduction. This had a knock-on effect for the SpaceX GPS 3 SV04 mission.

Delayed from November 4 due to problems with the liquid oxygen ground fuelling system at the pad. Delayed from November 8, 11 and 12 due to bad weather threatened by Tropical Storm Eta.

November 15, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, USCV-1 (NASA Crew Flight 1)

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft (C207), now called “Resilience”.

The purpose of the mission is to take the first crew of four astronauts for NASA to the International Space Station. This is the first time four astronauts have ever launched into space together in a space capsule.

The crew is Soichi Noguchi (JAXA) and Victor J Glover, Shannon Walker and Michael S Hopkins (NASA) and they are expected to stay in space for around 210 days.

This flight used a brand new first stage booster (B1061).

Launch was from launchpad LC-39A with an instantaneous launch time of 7:27 p.m. EST.

The booster was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean and will be re-used on the next crew launch in 2021.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft will return for a splashdown at sea at the end of the mission.

Delayed from August 30, late September, October 23, 31 and November 11, 2020. Delayed from November 14 due to adverse onshore winds at the launch site and unfavourable weather at the recovery site.

November 24, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L15

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 16th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. Each satellite weighs around 500 lb (227 kg).

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 9:13 p.m. EST.

This brings the total number of Starlink satellites to 955 launched in the last 18 months.

The booster (B1049) has set a new record with it’s seventh successful launch. It has already launched four previous Starlink missions and two commercial satellite missions. Both payload fairing halves had also been flown before, one half once and the other half twice.

The booster was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” northeast of the Cape.

This launch also marks the 100th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket and the 23rd launch in 2020. SpaceX has now successfully recovered a first stage booster 67 times.

Delayed from October, November 21 and 22, 2020. Delayed from November 23, 2020 due to inclement weather in the recovery area.

December 6, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS 21

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the first Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft (C208). The purpose of the mission is to take the 21st resupply cargo load to the International Space Station (ISS) including the first ever commercial airlock developed by NanoRacks and called the Bishop Airlock.

This was the first launch of the cargo version of Dragon 2 which are rated for up to 5 missions.

The booster B1058 had already made three successful launches this year and it was successfully recovered on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Atlantic Ocean.

Launch was from launchpad LC-39A with a launch time of 11:17 a.m. EST.

The following day the Cargo Dragon 2 automously docked with the ISS, the first cargo Dragon spacecraft to do so, all previous cargo Dragon spacecraft were captured by the Canadarm robotic arm and docked manually.

On December 21, the new airlock was attached to the ISS using the robotic arm. It will be possible load payloads into the airlock from within the ISS and then to deploy payloads using the robotic arm.

Delayed from August 5, October 30, November 15 and 22 and December 2, 2020. Delayed from December 5, 2020 because of bad weather in the recovery area.

December 10, 2020 – United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy Rocket, NROL-44

The Delta IV Heavy triple-core rocket launched a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-37B with an original launch window from 5:50 to 10:30 p.m. EST. During preparations it was rescheduled for 8:09 p.m.

Delayed from June, August 26, 27 and 28, 2020. On August 29, the launch was aborted just after the three main engines were given the signal to ignite at T-3 seconds.

Delayed from September 26 and 27, 2020 due to launchpad technical issues with the launchpad swing arm retraction system and again on September 29 as a result of hydraulic leaks in the ground systems.

On September 30, launch was again aborted, this time at T-7 seconds.

Delayed from October 15 and 23, 2020.

The delays in August and September had a knock-on effect on several planned SpaceX launches originally scheduled for late August and late September.

December 13, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, SXM-7

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SXM-7 radio broadcasting satellite built by Maxar Technologies for SiriusXM.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with an original launch window of 11:22 a.m. to 1:21 p.m. EST. Rescheduled for 12:30 p.m.

The booster was B1051 which had already made six previous flights, the last time on October 18, 2020. This is the second booster to hit the seven launch and recovery milestone.

It was successfully recovered to SpaceX’s second ASDS “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean.

Delayed from August 1 and November 2020. Delayed from December 11 when the countdown was stopped at T-30 seconds.

December 19, 2020 – SpaceX Falcon 9, NROL-108

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, NROL-108.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40. The three hour launch window started at 9:00 a.m. EST.

The booster (B1059) which had flown four times before, was recovered to the Kennedy Space Center at Landing Zone 1.

This was the last planned launch for SpaceX in 2020, bringing the total launches for the year to 26, a record for SpaceX. Of the 26 launches, 25 were from Florida, the other one being from California.

Delayed from October 25, 2020. Launch scrubbed on December 17, 2020 at T-1:53 due to a high pressure sensor reading in the second stage’s liquid oxygen tank.

Sources

• Kennedy Space Center
• Space Flight Now
• Space Launch Schedule
• SpaceX
• United Launch Alliance

See also:- NASA tours | NASA tickets | current launch schedule