Rocket Launch Schedule 2021 in Florida

This page lists the complete Kennedy Space Center (KSC) rocket launch schedule for 2021 and the Cape Canaveral rocket launch schedule for 2021.

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 Rocket Launch Sites

The Kennedy Space Center is actually two rocket launch sites, the civilian NASA Kennedy Space Center and the military Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Both make up part of the “Eastern Range” overseen by Space Launch Delta 45 (formerly 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”.

The current operational launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center are the two former Space Shuttle pads:

• LC-39B — NASA SLS Artemis programme
• LC-39A — SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon 9 Heavy

The current operational launch pads at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are:

• SLC-40 — SpaceX Falcon 9
• SLC-41 — ULA Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur

2021 Florida Rocket Launch Highlights

After SpaceX launched 25 rockets from Florida in 2020, it was expected that the schedule for 2021 would be equally full with as many as 53 launches on the rocket launch manifest. This was subsequently downgraded slightly to 47 launches and in the end SpaceX achieved 31 launches (including Vandenberg).

In the first quarter of 2021 there were nine launches from the Cape, all by SpaceX. In the second quarter there were a further 12 launches all by SpaceX except for one by ULA. The third quarter was very quiet with only two launches, both by SpaceX. The final quarter saw eight launches of which six were SpaceX.

A major milestone in Mars exploration happened on February 18, 2021 when the Perseverance Rover landed in the Jezero Crater. If all goes to plan, the rover will collect rock samples and ultimately they will be sent back to Earth, the first time material from another planet has ever been returned to Earth.

A number of projected “first” launches were scheduled for 2021 but in the end delays pushed all those launches into 2022 (see below for more details) and some into 2023.

SpaceX Rocket Launches

At the start of the year there were 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”.

Following a successful recovery in June, the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” transited to the Pacific Ocean to support upcoming SpaceX launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. A third drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas“ was in final fit out to support Atlantic Ocean recoveries and it started sea trials in July.

Unlike the two earlier drone ships, “A Shortfall of Gravitas“ it fully autonomous and does not require tugs to position it. A robot called an “Octograbber“ secures the four landing legs of the booster to the ship for the return to Port Canaveral.

All the drone ships are named after spaceships from the books of the late science fiction writer Iain M. Banks.

The fairing recovery vessels had large nets and attempted to catch the fairing halves before they hit the water. It appears that attempts to catch the fairings to prevent them landing in the ocean have not been that successful but “wet” recovery where the fairings touch down in the sea and are then recovered has proved perfectly satisfactory and many fairings have been re-used.

In March 2021, Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief were decommissioned and the two Dragon recovery ships, “GO Searcher” and “GO Navigator” took over fairing recovery duties. SpaceX also chartered a larger vessel, “Shelia Bordelon” with a 50 ton crane to assist in fairing recovery as well as the offshore tug HOS Briarwood.

Two former offshore platform supply ships joined the SpaceX fleet as recovery ships. They have been named “Bob” and “Doug”, after NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley and were commissioned in September. They are being used to recover the two fairing halves and can also tow the ASDS barges out to sea.

SpaceX also considered building more Crew Dragon spacecraft to cope with the increase in civilian launches like Inspiration4.

2021 was busy as SpaceX continued with their new Starlink and ride-share missions where up to 60 small satellites are launched each time as part of their global internet service.

In total, SpaceX has approval to launch up to 12,000 Starlink satellites.

As SpaceX continued to work on their next-generation Starship rocket system in Texas, there could have been up to three Falcon Heavy launches in Florida in 2021 but in the end, they slipped into 2022.

Having successfully launched their first crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020, there were two further SpaceX crewed missions planned for 2021.

On January 13, SpaceX successfully recovered the first of their upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft when it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, the first time a Cargo Dragon had left the ISS and returned to Florida. Their “Go Navigator” recovery ship hoisted the capsule out of the water in preparation for a return to the SpaceX refurbishment facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) Rocket Launches

After the problem in late 2019, Boeing had hoped to make the first mission to the ISS using their new CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. If this had been successful they would also make their first crewed mission in 2021.

In the end, the second demo flight of the CST-100 Starliner slipped into 2022.

The new ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket was also scheduled to make it’s first flight in 2021 but this also slipped into 2022.

NASA Rocket Launches

NASA had hoped that new Space Launch System, Artemis 1 would launch in 2021 but it has now been further delayed until 2022.

NASA has also built a brand new launch pad about a mile south from shuttle pad LC-39A called Pad LC-48A.

It is a “clean” pad to offer maximum flexibility to a range of launch customers but none have been announced to-date.

Blue Origin Rocket Launches

Blue Origin had hoped to make the first test flight of their New Glenn rocket in July 2021 but they are now targeting late 2022.

Sierra Nevada Rocket Launches

Sierra Nevada Corporation had hoped to launch their “mini shuttle” Dream Chaser on the new United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket but delays with the new United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket mean this has slipped to 2022.

Firefly Aerospace Rocket Launches

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

Unfortunately the first flight of an Alpha rocket named the Dedicated Research and Education Accelerator Mission (DREAM), from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on September 2, 2021 failed when the mission had to be aborted a couple of minutes after launch.

Fifteen seconds into the launch, a electrical fault caused one of the four Reaver engines to shutdown, slowing down the ascent.

When the rocket appeared to lose control as it approached supersonic speed, it was deliberately destroyed.

Relativity Space Rocket Launches

Relativity Space has taken over another former Titan and Pershing missile launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, LC-16.

They are building a 3-D printed Terran 1 rocket to launch small satellites but launch date has now slipped to 2022.

Space Perspective Balloon Flights

A new company called Space Perspective announced that they intend to launch space balloon flights from the landing facility at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Spaceship Neptune will carry a crew of one pilot and up to eight passengers on a six hour journey.

Space Adventures Launches

Space Adventures had planned to fly four tourists on a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission similar to the privately funded Inspiration4 mission in 2021.

However, the flight was cancelled due to a lack of suitable clients in the required timeframe. Instead on December 8, 2021 the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa flew to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Complete 2021 Florida Rocket Launch Schedule

This page details the historical launches in 2021. Click here for previous launch details for 2020 and launches for 2022.

All times are local times.

Abbreviations:

• EDT — Eastern Daylight Time
• EST — Eastern Standard Time (during the winter months)
• NET — “No earlier than”
• TBA — To be announced

January 7, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Türksat 5A

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Türksat 5A satellite built by Airbus for the Türksat Satellite Communications and Cable TV Operations Company of Turkey. It is the first of a pair of satellites, SpaceX will launch Türksat 5B in June.

The booster B1060 had launched three time before.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window from 8:28 p.m. to 12:28 a.m. EST.

The booster was successfully recovered on the Autonomous Drone Ship (ASDS) “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean around 400 miles east of Cape Canaveral.

Delayed from November 30 and December, 2020, January 4, 2021.

January 20, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L16

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 17th 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 8:02 a.m. EST.

This takes the total number of Starlink satellites to 1,015 including prototypes launched in the last 18 months with around 940 operational.

This mission used booster B1051 which last flew on December 13, 2020 for the seventh time, making a record breaking turn around time of just 38 days for its eighth launch. Both fairing halves had also flown before.

The booster made a successful landing on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions” despite slightly adverse weather conditions, in the Atlantic Ocean around 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral.

Delayed from January 17 and then again from January 18, 2021 due to poor weather in the recovery zone. Delayed from January 19, 2021 to allow further pre-launch inspections.

January 24, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, SXRS-3 (Rideshare 3 / Transporter 1)

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SXRS-3 mission which is a rideshare launch (SmallSat Rideshare Mission 3) into a near polar Sun-synchronous orbit. The payload consisted of 133 small micro satellites and nano satellites for both commercial customers and government agencies plus 10 Starlink satellites. This set a new record for a single rocket.

Included in the manifest is Spaceflight’s Sherpa-FX which is a non-propulsive orbital transfer vehicle that is able to deploy multiple satellites and host payloads. On this mission it launched around six micro satellites, ten cubesats and two hosted payloads including several from Nanoracks.

Another part of the manifest was the German Exolaunch transfer vehicle that launched 30 satellites.

One rather unusual payload was Celestis 17 containing cremated remains.

The two previous rideshare missions in 2020 piggybacked onto existing Starlink missions. This mission started out as the first exclusively third-party rideshare mission but it also included 10 Starlink v1.0 satellites launched into a polar orbit.

The total satellites for launch stands at 143 which is a new record for a single launch.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window of 10:00 to 10:22 a.m. EST.

The booster, B1058 had been flown on four previous missions and made a successful landing on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” positioned south of Miami. Both fairing halves were also recovered.

Delayed from December 16, 2020 and January 14, 21 and 22, 2021. Delayed from January 22, 2021 due to bad weather at the launch site.

February 4, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L18

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 18th 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 takes the total Starlink satellite launches to 1,085 with over 1,000 now in service.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 1:19 a.m. EST.

SpaceX successfully landed the booster B1060 on ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” and recovered both fairing halves. It was the booster’s fifth launch. It previously launched on January 8, 2021, less than a month ago.

This 27 day turn around is the fastest yet for SpaceX, previous record was 38 days.

February 15, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L19

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 19th 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 10:59 p.m. EST.

The satellites were successfully deployed but the first stage booster suffered engine cover fatigue during the re-entry burn causing one engine to shut down prematurely and failed to land on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” situated about 400 miles northeast of the Cape.

The booster B1059 was on its sixth launch.

Delayed from February 13, 2021. Delayed from February 14, 2021 due to bad weather.

March 4, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L17

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 20th 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 at 3:24 a.m. EST.

The booster, B1049 had been flown on seven previous missions and SpaceX was able to recover it on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”. The fairing halves had also flown before, one half has flown twice and the other three times.

This is the sixth SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 so far this year and brings the total Starlink satellites launched to 1,205.

Delayed from January 29 and 30, February 1, 2021. Delayed from February 2, 2021 due to bad weather in the recovery area.

It was originally planned to launch ahead of Starlink V1.0-L18 but was switched due to poor weather in the recovery zone and some extra pre-flight checks. It also gave SpaceX time to reposition it’s two fairing recovery ships.

Delayed again from February 4, 5 and 7, 2021 due to technical issues.

Delayed again from February 17, 2021 after the entry burn glitch of the previous booster B1059 resulting in it failing to land on the ASDS. Delayed from February 28 after an automatic abort at T-00:01:24.

Delayed from March 2, 2021 due to unfavourable launch and recovery area weather.

March 11, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L20

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 21st 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 window starting at 3:13 a.m. EST.

The first stage booster B1058 had made five previous flights including two Dragon flights. Both fairing halves had also flown before.

SpaceX successfully recovered the booster to the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”.

Delayed from March 7 and 9, 2021.

March 14, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L21

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 22nd batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch window starting at 6:01 a.m. EDT.

The booster B1059 launched for a record ninth time and was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You”.

SpaceX has launched 1,325 Starlink satellites to date.

Delayed from March 13, 2021.

March 24, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L22

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 23rd batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 4:58 a.m. EDT.

The booster B1060 had already flown on five previous missions as had both fairing halves.

The booster was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” some 400 miles northeast of Florida’s Space Coast.

A total of around 1,385 Starlink satellites have now been launched and it is reckoned around 1,320 Starlink satellites are operational.

Delayed from March 21 and 22, 2021.

April 7, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L23

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 24th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

The first stage booster, B1058 had already flown six times before and last flew less than one month ago on March 11, 2021.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 12:34 p.m. to 13:37 p.m. EDT.

The first stage landed on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You”.

This landmark is the 100th launch of a Falcon rocket from Florida, the 79th successful recovery of the first stage and the 10th SpaceX launch from Florida this year.

April 23, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, USCV-2 (NASA Crew Flight 2)

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endeavour” (C206) that previously flew on the Crew Demo 2 mission.

The purpose of the mission was to take the 2nd crew flight for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a six flight contract.

The crew comprised of commander Robert Shane Kimbrough (NASA), pilot K. Megan McArthur (NASA) and two mission specialists, Japanese Space Agency Akihiko Hoshide (JAXA) and European Space Agency Thomas Pesquet (ESA).

As well as being the second flight of the spacecraft C206 it was also the second flight of the booster B1061. This was the first time that a previously flown booster had ever been used on a crewed mission.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 5:49 a.m. EDT and the crew are expected to spend up to six months on station.

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

Delayed from March 30 and from April 20, 2021 to gain a better trajectory. Delayed from April 22, 2021 due to bad weather in the emergency crew recovery zone in the Atlantic Ocean.

Note that to gain admission to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on launch day, you needed to purchase a special launch viewing ticket package, you could not be admitted with a standard day admission ticket.

April 28, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L24

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 25th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

This was the seventh flight of booster B1060 and its fourth flight this year.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 11:44 p.m. EDT.

The booster landed on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”, some 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean.

May 4, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L25

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 26th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch window starting at 3:01 p.m. EST.

The booster, B1049, was recovered to the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” positioned east of Charleston in the Atlantic Ocean.

This booster is the oldest booster in the current SpaceX Falcon 9 fleet and has completed nine successful missions, the second booster to achieve this milestone along with B1051.

A total of 1565 Starlink satellites have now been launched with over a quarter of them being launched by B1049. B1049 with B1051 have now launched over half the Starlink satellites.

May 9, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L27

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 27th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 2:42 a.m. EDT.

The booster, B1051 landed on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions” around 400 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral after its tenth successful launch, a new record for SpaceX.

SpaceX originally said that first stage boosters would have to undergo major refurbishment after reaching the ten flight milestone. They are now suggesting they will continue to fly them on their own Starlink missions until something breaks so they can test them to their limits.

SpaceX has now launched 1,625 Starlink satellites.

May 15, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L26

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 28th batch of 52 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. There were also two rideshare satellites, a radar remote sensing satellite from Capella Space and the Tyvak-0130 from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch window starting at 6:56 p.m. EDT.

This was the eighth flight for booster B1058 which landed on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” positioned around 400 miles northeast in the Atlantic Ocean. Both payload fairing halves had also flown before.

SpaceX have now launched 15 times so far in 2021 with 5 launches in less than a month. Most have been Starlink missions.

May 18, 2021 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V, SBIRS GEO-5

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket launched the 5th Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite for the U.S. Air Force to provide early warning of enemy missile launches and to detect natural events like wildfires and volcanic eruptions.

The payload also included two rideshare cubesats, Technology Demonstration Orbiter TDO-3 and TDO-4.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a 40 minute launch window opening at 1:31 p.m. EDT.

Complimentary launch viewing was available from the Apollo/Saturn V Center Lawn (reservations on the day required) and the North Atlantis Lawn (first come first served).

You could also view it from the Banana Creek Launch Viewing Area next to the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Cost of tickets was $20 and included reserved bleacher seating.

Delayed from May 17, 2021 due to a bad temperature sensor.

This is the first Atlas V launch of 2021 and the first non-SpaceX launch of the year.

May 26, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L28

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 29th batch of 60 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 2:59 p.m. EDT.

The booster, B1063 landed on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions” after its second successful launch.

Both fairing halves, which had also flown before, were also recovered.

June 3, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS 22

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 2nd Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft. The purpose of the mission is to take the 22nd resupply cargo load to the International Space Station.

Launch was from launchpad LC-39A with a launch window at 1:29 p.m. EDT..

This flight used a brand new booster B1067. The previous 16 flights SpaceX has made so far this year were all using pre-flown boosters.

The booster made a successful landing on the ASDS “Of Course I Still Love You” positioned about 180 miles northeast of the Kennedy Space Center in the Atlantic Ocean.

Delayed from March and May 20, 2021.

June 6, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, SXM-8

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SXM-8 satellite built by Maxar Technologies for SiriusXM to provide satellite radio broadcasting across North America.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 12:25 a.m. EDT.

The booster, B1061 had flown twice before and made a successful recovery to the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”.

Delayed from June 6, 2021.

June 17, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, GPS III SV05

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 5th third-generation GPS satellite “Neil Armstrong” built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Space Force.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window starting at 12:08 p.m. EDT.

Block 5 booster, B1062, had flown on one previous mission, GPS III SV04 “Sacagawea”. This was the first time that the U.S. Space Force had agreed to use a previously flown stage 1 booster.

Complimentary viewing was available from the North Atlantis Lawn at the Visitor Complex or for $20 you could view the launch from the Banana Creek Launch Viewing Area alongside the Apollo/ Saturn V Center.

After a successful launch the booster landed on the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”.

June 30, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Transporter 2

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Transporter 2 mission which was a rideshare flight. The payload consisted of around 85 small micro satellites and nano satellites for both commercial customers and government agencies plus 3 SpaceX Starlink satellites which were launched into a polar sun-synchronous orbit.

There were also two SpaceFlight Sherpa ‘space tugs’ that in turn launched roughly half of the satellites.

Included in the payload manifest were a number of CubeSats, Earth observation satellites for Satellogic and ICEYE and a number of NASA and Space Development Agency satellites.

Other customers included Umbra, Capella Space, Loft Orbital, Swarm Technologies, Spiral Global, NanoAvionics, Technical University of Berlin, Tyvak, D-Orbit, DARPA and PlanetiQ.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window from 2:56 p.m. to 3:54 p.m. EDT. Launch took place at 3:31 p.m. Due to inclement weather.

Complimentary viewing was available from the North Atlantis Lawn and the Atlantis South Lot at the Visitor Complex or for $20 you could view the launch from the Banana Creek Launch Viewing Area alongside the Apollo/ Saturn V Center.

The second Transporter mission used Booster B1060 on its eighth flight and it was the first landing this year at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) rather than a drone ship recovery. The last recovery at LZ-1 was on December 19, 2020.

It was also exactly a year from the date the booster B1060 made its first flight.

The offshore tug HOS Briarwood was used to recover the two fairing halves.

This marked the 20th launch for SpaceX from the Cape this year.

Moved up from July 2021. Delayed from June 25, 2021 to make additional pre-launch checks.

Delayed from June 29, 2021 at T-11 seconds when the Range issued a no-go as a result of a private helicopter flying into the no-fly “keep out” zone.

August 29, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS 23

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 25th Dragon spacecraft. The purpose of the mission is to take the 23rd resupply cargo load to the International Space Station.

Part of the payload is an Australian built 1U CubeSat called “Binar-1” for the Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre. It will be deployed once the Dragon spacecraft reaches the ISS.

A second CubeSat is called “CUAVA-1” built by the Australian Research Council.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 3:14 a.m. EDT.

This was the booster B1061’s fourth flight and it landed on SpaceX’s newest ASDS “A Shortfall of Gravitas” on its first mission recovery.

Delayed from August 18, 2021. Delayed from August 28 due to stormy weather at the launch site.

September 15, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Inspiration4

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft to fly the first all-civilian mission into low earth orbit for several days before splashing down in the Atlantic.

Unlike the upcoming Axiom missions, the Inspiration4 mission it will not dock with the ISS but will fly around the world for three day in a 363 mile high orbit, about 90 miles higher than the ISS orbit. This is the highest astronauts have flown since the Space Shuttle flights to the Hubble Space Telescope.

During the first ever commercial crew mission, the four crew members will carry out experiments.

The launch has been chartered by billionaire businessman and jet pilot Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments and Draken International. It will be the first civilian commercial flight commanded by a non-government astronaut. Costs have not been disclosed.

The mission is to support the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Isaacman hopes to raise over $200 million for the hospital. He has already pledged $100 million of his own money.

As well as Isaacman, a front-line physician assistant, Hayley Arceneaux from St. Jude has been selected and will act as the crew’s medical officer.

The third crew member is Sian Proctor, an artist and a pilot who will act as co-pilot and was also a NASA astronaut finalist. She was selected by a national competition from customers of Shift4 Payments.

The fourth crew member is engineer Chris Sembroski who will be the mission specialist. He was gifted the seat by a friend both of whom were a donor to St. Jude and was selected in a random draw.

Unlike in all previous astronaut launches where the astronauts were suited up in the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building, the Inspiration4 crew suited up at SpaceX’s own Falcon Support Building near launchpad 39A.

In March 2021, SpaceX announced that they were planning to remove the docking adaptor and hatch from the Crew Dragon capsule “Resilience” and replace it with a plexiglass observation dome that would be protected by the existing nosecone.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a 5 hour launch window opening at 8:02 p.m. EDT.

Booster B1062, had flown on two previous missions launching GPS satellites and was safely recovered to the ASDS “Just Read the Instructions”.

Because the Inspiration4 launch could take place outside the normal operating hours of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, only guests who had purchased a “Feel the Heat” launch viewing ticket package, were admitted.

The capsule splashed down around 7:06 p.m. EDT on September 18, around 40 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean. The crew were recovered to the SpaceX recovery ship “Go Searcher”.

Elon Musk also pledged $50 to St. Jude taking the total to over the target $200 million mark.

October 16, 2021 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V, Lucy

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket will launch a NASA planetary science mission known as Lucy on a 12 year mission to fly by a Main Belt asteroid and then seven Trojan asteroids orbiting the Sun near the planet Jupiter.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a launch window starting at 5:34 a.m. EDT.

November 10, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, USCV-3 (NASA Crew Flight 3)

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch a brand new Crew Dragon spacecraft. The purpose of this mission is to take the 3rd Commercial Crew flight for NASA to the International Space Station and they are expected to stay around 6 months.

The new third Crew Dragon has been named “Endurance” commemorating Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship.

The crew consists of four astronauts:

• Raja Chari (NASA) — mission commander
• Thomas Marshburn (NASA) — pilot
• Kayla Barron (NASA) — mission specialist
• Matthias Maurer (European Space Agency) — mission specialist

The booster is B1067 which first flew in June when it launched the previous crew mission.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 9:03 p.m. EDT.

Booster B1067 has had one previous mission launching a cargo Dragon 2 to the ISS and was successfully recovered to the ASDS “A Shortfall of Gravitas”.

Like the previous crewed launch mission, Inspiration4, this launch is taking place outside the normal operating hours of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. This means only guests who have purchased a “Feel the Heat” or “Feel the Fun” launch viewing ticket package, will be admitted.

Delayed from September 13, October 23 and 30, 2021.

Delayed from October 31, 2021 due to poor weather at both launch site and along flight path and then delayed from November 3 due to a “minor medical issue” with one of the crew. Delayed again from November 6 due to further bad weather and co-ordinating with the return of Crew-2.

November 13 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink V1.0-L29

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched another batch of 53 Starlink v1.0 satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network. This brings the total Starlink satellites in orbit to 1,844 (included any failed or decommissioned satellites).

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 7:19 a.m. EDT.

This was booster B1058’s 9th flight and it was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Just Read The Instructions”.

Delayed from mid August 2021. Launch scrubbed from November 12, 2021 due to bad weather at Cape Canaveral and poor sea conditions in the booster recovery area.

December 2 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Starlink 4–3

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched another batch of 48 Starlink satellites as part of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband network plus two Earth observation satellites for BlackSky.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch time of 6:28 p.m. EST.

The booster, B1060, was on its ninth mission and was successfully recovered to the ASDS “A Shortfall of Gravitas”.

This launch took the total SpaceX launches so far this year to 27, 25 of them from Florida, beating SpaceX’s previous record.

Delayed from December 1, 2021.

December 7, 2021 – United Launch Alliance Atlas V, STP-3

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission for the U.S. Space Force. This is a rideshare mission including the STPSat 6 satellite, LPDE 1 and other smaller satellites.

The STPSat 6 satellite includes payloads for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System-3 (SABRS-3) and NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) experiment.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-41 with a 2 hour launch window from 4:04 to 6:04 a.m. EST.

Delayed from February 26, 2021 to allow further work on the STPSat 6 satellite and then from June 23, 2021 to analyse the engine nozzle vibrations in the new more powerful upper stage RL10C-1–1 engine.

Delayed from early September, November 22 and December 4, 2021. Delayed again from December 5 and 6 due to a kerosene propellant leak in a ground storage system.

December 9, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, IXPE

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Imaging X-Ray Explorer Mission (IXPE) for NASA which will consist of three identical space telescopes to investigate black holes and neutron stars.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch window from 1:00 to 2:30 a.m. EST.

Booster B1061 had made four previous flight and was successfully recovered to the ASDS “Just Read The Instructions”.

Delayed from November 17 and then moved forward from December 13, 2021.

December 18, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, Türksat 5B

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Türksat 5B satellite for the Türksat Satellite Communications and Cable TV Operations Company of Turkey.

Launch was from launch pad SLC-40 with a launch window from 10:58 p.m. to 12:28 a.m. EST.

This launch marks the 30th launch from Florida this year.

The booster B1067 was on its third launch and was successful recovered to the ASDS “A Shortfall of Gravitas”.

Delayed from June 2021.

December 21, 2021 – SpaceX Falcon 9, CRS 24

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the 26th Dragon spacecraft. The purpose of the mission is to take the 24th resupply cargo load (around 6,500 lbs) to the International Space Station.

Launch was from launch pad LC-39A with a launch time of 5:07 a.m. EST.

The new booster, B1069, landed on the ASDS “Just Read The Instructions” positioned east of Charleston in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the 100th successful recovery of a Falcon 9 booster.

Delayed from December 4, 2021.

This launch marks the final launch of 2021 with a total of 31 orbital launches beating the previous record of 30 launches from the Cape in a year.

Sources

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

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