SpaceX Proposal to Use Florida Launch Pad 120 Times a Year Gets Initial Nod From FAA

After finding the company’s proposal will have no adverse effect on the human environment, the agency slates a public review.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft takes off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 14, 2025. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla.—SpaceX launch activity on Florida’s space coast could increase to once every three days, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is allowing for public review of its Draft Environmental Assessment of that change.

The private space company is currently approved to use Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for 50 Falcon 9 rocket operations a year. Now it wants to increase operations to up to 120 per year, and build a new landing zone for the Falcon 9’s first stage at that launch site, using it for up to 34 landings per year.