Tempus fugit, a lot of clocks say: “time is fleeting.” For a facility as established and enduring as Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, it might seem like forever since the first rocket launched from here. Time has flown and so have thousands of rockets and missiles from America’s premier spaceport. Truth is, CCSFS has been open “only” 75 years, but it continues to have a bright future not only today but also for the long-term future.
Watching a rocket tear skyward from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center is a visceral thrill—one that most people will remember for the rest of their lives. If you are a photographer, the memories are amplified when you freeze the moment in sharp, vibrant photographs. Even though a still photograph won’t come with the incredible sounds of the engines of a Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy as it breaks free of the bonds of gravity, a good photo will last a lifetime and keep the memories of your time here in Florida.
After several delays, Axiom 4 is on its way to the International Space Station. The corporate mission, commanded by NASA veteran Peggy Whitson, lifted off at 2:31 AM Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon.
In addition to Whitson, Shubhanshu Shukla, an officer in the Indian Air Force and astronaut with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists include Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, a project astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA) representing Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Notably, this mission marks the first time astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary will visit the ISS, representing each nation’s first government-sponsored human spaceflight in over 40 years.
Under clear, hot skies this morning, United Launch Alliance launched one of their fifteen remaining Atlas V rockets carrying 27 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Launch was at 6:54 AM from LC-41 at Cape Canaveral and by all appearances, it was a nominal flight for the veteran rocket. This was the 103rd launch for the venerable rocket. The first Atlas V launch was on August 21, 2002.
It was a typical summer’s day here on the Space Coast: at first, sunny and warm, humid with an ever-present threat of a thunderstorm lingering off in the distance.
An hour and a half before today’s launch, while the countdown clock was ticking towards T-0, the skies made good on their threat of a thunderstorm, with plenty of lightning strikes and heavy showers near Space Launch Complex 40, where the GPS III-7 satellite, also known as SV-08, waited atop Falcon 9 for liftoff just before the end of the launch window at 1:38 PM Eastern Time.
SpaceX launched their 57th mission of 2025 this afternoon from Cape Canaveral when the company sent the Starlink 6-67 mission to low Earth orbit aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 12:38 PM EDT, right at the opening of the launch window.
Following a “norminal” initial ascent and stage separation, Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1090 touched down on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ in the Atlantic Ocean, concluding its fourth flight. This booster previously launched the SES O3b mPOWER-E, Crew-10 and Bandwagon-3 missions, and will now return to Port Canaveral for offloading and refurbishment at SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center prior to its next flight.
The second stage and payload also had a “norminal” day, where they reached orbit a little more than eight minutes after liftoff. At 1:47 PM ET, SpaceX announced a successful payload deployment, marking another successful mission for the company (pending second stage disposal).
Today’s payload was 28 Starlink satellites that will now join the other Starlink satellites from Group 6 in the Starlink constellation.
That array of satellites provides Internet connectivity globally to over five million customers in over 125 countries and territories, spanning all seven continents.
Another group of Starlink satellites are scheduled to launch NET Monday evening:
| Mission | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 12-15 |
|---|---|
| Organization | SpaceX |
| Location | Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 40 |
| Status | To Be Confirmed |
| Status Info | Awaiting official confirmation – current date is known with some certainty. |
| Window Opens | Monday, 05/19/2025 11:40:00 PM EDT |
| Window Closes | Tuesday, 05/20/2025 12:46:00 AM EDT |
| Destination | Low Earth Orbit |
| Mission Description | A batch of satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for a space-based Internet communication system. |
Please note that the launch window times are provided in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
For the most current information regarding the launch schedule and status, please refer to official updates from SpaceX.
Summer is nearly back on the Space Coast, with warm temperatures and a persistent threat of rain in the afternoon and evenings — typical weather here, and it will stay this way for several months. That being said, Atlas V was able to beat the weather last night and launched at the opening of its window, with liftoff at 7:01 PM ET after an apparently quiet countdown, save for some concerns about the energy potential of a nearby anvil cloud (Cumulonimbus incus) lingering near the launch pad before dissipating.
Summer thunderstorms have yet to arrive on the Space Coast this year, but there were rumbles and roars a-plenty yesterday on the Eastern Range. First, in the wee hours, SpaceX launched CRS-32 from KSC, and its booster landed at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Then, after sunset, the company completed another RTLS Falcon 9 launch, this time from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff was at 8:48 PM ET.
Eight minutes and seven seconds after liftoff, Booster B1090 completed its third flight successfully at Landing Zone 2 on the site of the former Launch Complex 13.
SpaceX and NASA launched the CRS-32 mission early Monday morning from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. After an apparently event-free countdown, liftoff was at 04:15:34 AM ET. About 7.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster used for the flight returned to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX launched their 41st mission of 2025 this evening from Cape Canaveral when the company sent the Starlink 6-78 mission to low Earth orbit aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 11:07 PM EDT and into clear but hazy skies skies on a seasonal night here on the Space Coast.
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