SpaceX is on pace to redefine what it means to launch at scale in the aerospace industry, with plans to execute an astonishing 170 orbital missions by the end of the year. If successful, the company would average a launch nearly every other day, dramatically surpassing its own record of 134 orbital launches set just last year.
The ambitious target was revealed by Anne Mason, SpaceX’s Director of National Security Space Launch, during a press briefing on Wednesday (May 28), ahead of the company’s planned May 30 launch of the GPS III SV08 satellite for the U.S. Space Force.
“We're targeting 170 launches by the end of the year,” Mason stated. “I always find it amazing that this cadence has become somewhat normal.”
The scale of that figure is a testament to how rapidly SpaceX’s operational capabilities have evolved. Just five years ago, in 2020, SpaceX completed about 25 launches—a pace that then seemed robust at roughly two per month. But by 2024, the company had completed 134 launches, and now, in 2025, it’s aiming to push that number even higher.
“This demonstrates how Falcon’s reusability and reliability, plus the hard work and dedication of the SpaceX team, have been critical to supporting assured access to space,” Mason said.
The bulk of these missions are carried out by the company’s stalwart Falcon 9 rocket, which accounted for 132 of 134 launches in 2024. The remaining two came from the Falcon Heavy, SpaceX’s triple-booster heavy-lift vehicle. Both systems feature reusable first stages, a cornerstone of SpaceX’s strategy to lower costs and increase launch frequency.
While the upper stages of Falcon rockets are still expendable, SpaceX has mastered their production at an industrial pace. “We have a second stage coming off the production line every two and a half days,” Mason revealed, underscoring the efficiency of SpaceX’s vertically integrated manufacturing approach.
Starlink Drives Majority of Launches
Much of this launch activity supports SpaceX’s rapidly growing Starlink broadband constellation, the largest satellite network ever built. About two-thirds of all orbital launches in 2024 were dedicated to Starlink deployments, a trend that has only intensified this year.
As of late May, SpaceX has conducted 64 orbital launches in 2025, 48 of which were Starlink missions. This reflects a launch rate of 0.43 per day, which, while impressive, still falls just short of the 0.47 launches per day required to hit the 170-launch target. The gap suggests that SpaceX will need to accelerate its already breakneck pace in the second half of the year.
With over 7,500 active satellites now in low Earth orbit, Starlink is not only a massive logistical feat but also a revenue-generating powerhouse that is helping to bankroll future ventures — including SpaceX’s bold interplanetary aspirations.
Starship Still in Testing, But Not Counted
Notably, the 170-launch projection does not include test flights of Starship, SpaceX’s next-generation super-heavy launch vehicle designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Starship remains in the experimental phase, with four test flights in 2024 and three so far in 2025, including the latest on May 27.
These suborbital Starship flights, while not counted in the orbital tally, represent the future of SpaceX’s deep-space strategy. Once operational, Starship is expected to eventually replace the Falcon line for many mission types due to its higher payload capacity and full reusability.
A New Normal for Global Launch Cadence
SpaceX’s pursuit of a 170-launch year isn’t just a company milestone — it’s a paradigm shift for the global space industry. The company alone now performs more launches annually than most nations combined, thanks to its reusability breakthroughs and its ability to execute missions with unparalleled frequency and consistency.
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