SpaceX has wrapped up an incredible year in 2025, achieving a monumental milestone of 170 rocket launches between its Falcon and Starship programs. This impressive feat was highlighted by space enthusiast Sawyer Merritt, who shared an infographic showcasing the exponential growth in SpaceX’s launch cadence over the past decade.
The breakdown of SpaceX’s launches for the year includes an astounding 165 Falcon 9 missions and five sub-orbital Starship flights. This marks a significant increase from the already impressive 138 launches in 2024, nearly doubling the company’s total from just two years ago. To put this growth into perspective, SpaceX only conducted seven missions in 2015, indicating a twentyfold increase in annual launch rate over the span of a decade.
A major driving force behind this surge in launches has been SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation. The Falcon 9 rocket has played a crucial role in deploying batches of satellites into low Earth orbit, with multiple missions being executed each week. SpaceX reached its 139th launch milestone in October, surpassing last year’s total, and exceeded 150 Falcon 9 flights in November, culminating in a total of 170 missions by the end of December.
While Falcon 9 remains the primary workhorse for SpaceX’s launch operations, Starship is quietly making strides towards a significant leap forward. In 2025, the company conducted five test flights of the Starship, laying the groundwork for a year of “heavy launch activity” in 2026. SpaceX is gearing up for the debut of its next-generation Starship V3 design in the first quarter of the upcoming year, with plans to commence commercial flights thereafter. These initial Starship missions will carry the larger Starlink V3 satellites, promising enhanced network speeds and capacity.
The remarkable achievements of 2025 coincide with a pivotal moment for SpaceX, as CEO Elon Musk has confirmed plans for the company to go public in 2026. This anticipated move is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in history, reflecting SpaceX’s position as a key player in the space industry.
As SpaceX looks ahead to 2026, the focus may shift towards pushing the boundaries of orbital and deep-space logistics, further solidifying the company’s reputation as a trailblazer in the aerospace sector. With a proven track record of sustained launch tempo and groundbreaking advancements, SpaceX is poised to redefine what is possible in the realm of space exploration.