SpaceX has set another record for the number of launches completed by a single company in a year, breaking its own record it set last year. Making the achievement even more remarkable is that there are still more than two months left to go in the year.
The company’s relentless launch pace was on full display when it launched two Falcon 9 rockets within hours of each other on Tuesday, October 15, quickly surpassing its own record of 96 orbital launches set in 2023.
The first launch of the day took place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, where a Falcon 9 rocket lifted 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low-Earth orbit. Dubbed the Starlink 10-10 mission, it marked SpaceX’s 100th launch of the year.
Showcasing SpaceX’s operational efficiency and the effectiveness of its reusable rocket technology, the same first-stage booster, designated B1080, was used for the mission, having previously flown on 10 other missions, including manned flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and satellite deployments for the European Space Agency (ESA).
The booster returned to Earth, successfully landing on SpaceX’s droneship, “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the 353rd booster landing in SpaceX’s history.
Falcon 9’s first stage booster lands for the 19th time ahead of recovery and refurbishment for its next mission pic.twitter.com/I7LO8wLWmK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 15, 2024
Just hours later, SpaceX launched a second Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Vandenberg launch added another 20 Starlink satellites to the company’s rapidly expanding satellite constellation.
Falcon 9 delivers 20 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California pic.twitter.com/91j3Vqu1Ge
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 15, 2024
By the time SpaceX reached its 100th launch of 2024, it had already surpassed the record for the most orbital launches conducted by a single company in a calendar year. That record was set by SpaceX just last year, when it accumulated 96 launches.
That number is only going to grow as the new record was achieved with more than two months still remaining in the year.
