CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has launched its last planned Falcon 9 Starlink mission from Florida’s Space Coast. It’s marking the end of the company’s East Coast Starlink launches, for now. The operations are moving to Vandenberg, California.
SpaceX Vice President of Launch, Kiko Dontchev, posted that the Falcon 9 has flown about 260 Starlink missions from the Cape over the past seven years. SpaceX is planning to shift future Starlink launches in Florida to its next-generation Starship rocket.
Space analyst Ken Kremer of Space Up Close says the change will have a major impact on how SpaceX uses its Florida launch pads and maintains its launch cadence. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions will continue flying from Florida.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on a Falcon Heavy this weekend, and Crew-13 is scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 next month. Kremer says Starship’s transition to Florida is still a work in progress.
SpaceX’s Starship infrastructure at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center remains under construction.
Kremer expects the first Starship launch from Florida is more likely to happen early next year, with NASA’s Artemis III mission adding urgency to the development.
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