In the month of April, the US launched 18 rockets into space. Nearly all of them were successful. While the vast majority were for SpaceX Falcon 9s launching the company’s Starlink satellites, it was still a diverse set of rockets, including NASA’s Space Launch System, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, and ULA’s Atlas V.
All five of those rockets had a launch take place from Florida’s Space Coast, also known by the US Military as the Eastern Range. This range is overseen and supported by the US Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45. This unit provides range security, weather services, and other services to all those launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
For the first time since 1966, the Eastern Range supported more than four different launch vehicles in the same month. April’s record of five different vehicles beats the two tied months of February 1965 and July 1966, which both saw four unique vehicles.
February 1965 Launches
- Delta C
- OSO 2
- Titan 3A
- LES 1
- Saturn 1
- Apolo 103
- Atlas Agena
- Ranger 8
July 1966 Launches
- Delta E1
- Explorer 33
- Saturn 1B
- Apollo 203
- Atlas-Agena
- GATV 10
- Titan 2
- Gemini 10
April 2026 Launches
NASA Space Launch System
On April 1, NASA successfully launched the Artemis 2 mission. This was the first crewed spaceflight to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, a poetic connection to the early Apollo missions that launched in 1965 and 1966.
The mission was an overall success and demonstrated that the Orion spacecraft and the SLS are ready for future crewed missions around the Moon.
SpaceX Falcon 9
SpaceX’s workhorse rocket, the Falcon 9, launched a total of four times in April 2026, all successfully. Half of those missions were for Starlink, while the other two launched government-contracted missions: Cygnus NG-24 and GPS-3 10.
Atlas V
Two of the remaining eight Atlas V rockets launched in April 2026, both carrying satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet constellation, a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink. Amazon bought up the remaining Atlas V rocket stock back in 2021 as a diversification program to launch its constellation of over 3,000 satellites.
Blue Origin New Glenn
Blue Origin launched its third New Glenn heavy lift rocket in April 2026 with the goal of reusing its first stage booster, landing it on its platform at sea, while also successfully deploying its customer’s payload into orbit. While it successfully completed the first two, becoming the first company to reuse a booster right after its first booster recovery, an engine failure on the second stage stranded the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird satellite in a lower than expected orbit, causing it to deorbit earlier than planned.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy
SpaceX launched its 12 Falcon Heavy rockets in April 2026 and the first Falcon Heavy since October 2024. What was supposed to be an extremely capable vehicle was sadly outshined by its little brother, the Falcon 9, as it ended up taking over most of its contracts. Now the Falcon Heavy is relegated to only the largest and heaviest payloads the industry has to offer.
