Good morning, friends. It’s your Space Coast correspondent James Sparvero and once again, SpaceX is on the verge of setting another record for most launches in a single year.
That number here last year soared to 72, and the goal for this year was even more ambitious, 100.
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A few brief pauses due to mishaps with Falcon 9 rockets, and then the hurricane, will likely stop 2024′s grand total from reaching triple digits, but a final tally perhaps in the 80s or even 90 would still shatter 2023′s historic year in spaceflight.
A Starlink launch from the Cape tonight would tie last year’s annual record of 72. Which means the record-breaking 73rd launch could come by Halloween.
Thanks to SpaceX’s reusability of rockets and the fast launch pace that’s created, our orbital launch record has been broken every year so far this decade. There were 30 launches in 2020, 31 in 2021, 57 in 2022, and 72 in 2023.
Only five launches this year have not been from SpaceX. Those include the first two launches of ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket, an Atlas V that launched Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on Boeing’s Starliner, and my personal favorite viewing experience this year, the final Delta IV Heavy.
Tonight’s launch window opens at 6:40 p.m. Go Falcon!
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👋 Here’s a little bit more about me.
Little did I know when watching Apollo 13 in the third grade that 20 years later, I was destined for a thrilling career as your Space Coast multimedia journalist.
Chemistry and biology weren’t so interesting to me in high school science, but I loved my Earth and Space class (Thanks, Mr. Lang).
Then in 2016, I traded Capitol correspondent in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for space correspondent. I’m proud that my first live report at News 6 happened to be the first time SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster on a barge. What seems so routine now was a really big deal that day in our newsroom!
From there, I’ve covered the Commercial Crew program and the return of human spaceflight to Kennedy Space Center (Demo-2 launched on my 33rd birthday!)
Now, as our coverage looks forward to missions to the moon and Mars, I often tell others I have the best job in local news. Because after all I’ve seen so far, I think I would be bored working somewhere else. I even bought a house near the Cape with a great view to the north so I never miss a launch even when I’m not working.
After eight years on the beat, though, I still consider myself a young space reporter and I always look forward to learning something new with every assignment.
Have a great launch into the rest of your week!