2026 is already ahead of last year
From the start of 2026 through June, there have been 153 orbital launches worldwide, and 5 of them ended in accidents. That is already ahead of the 145 launches recorded over the same stretch last year. If the current pace holds, 2026 has a shot at becoming the busiest year yet for space launches – a title that says as much about demand as it does about hardware.
- Falcon 9: 13 launches
- Long March family: 7 launches
- Electron: 3 launches
- H3, Ariane 64 Block 2, Zhuque-2E, Lijian-1, Kuaizhou-11: 1 launch each
2026 is already ahead of last year
From the start of 2026 through June, there have been 153 orbital launches worldwide, and 5 of them ended in accidents. That is already ahead of the 145 launches recorded over the same stretch last year. If the current pace holds, 2026 has a shot at becoming the busiest year yet for space launches – a title that says as much about demand as it does about hardware.
- Falcon 9: 13 launches
- Long March family: 7 launches
- Electron: 3 launches
- H3, Ariane 64 Block 2, Zhuque-2E, Lijian-1, Kuaizhou-11: 1 launch each
2026 is already ahead of last year
From the start of 2026 through June, there have been 153 orbital launches worldwide, and 5 of them ended in accidents. That is already ahead of the 145 launches recorded over the same stretch last year. If the current pace holds, 2026 has a shot at becoming the busiest year yet for space launches – a title that says as much about demand as it does about hardware.
June was a busy month in orbit: 28 orbital launches worldwide, 13 of them on SpaceX’s Falcon 9. That single vehicle handled almost half of all global launches, a reminder that the launch business still runs on one reusable workhorse while everyone else fights for scraps.
Those 28 launches placed 370 objects into low Earth orbit. The headline number is not just the total; it is how concentrated the activity remains. The United States led with 16 launches, China followed with 10, and Japan and Europe managed one apiece.
Vandenberg led global launch activity
The busiest launch site in June was Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, which saw 8 launches. Cape Canaveral in Florida came next with 5 orbital starts, while China’s Jiuquan spaceport led the Chinese sites with 4 launches. For a launch calendar that looked balanced on paper, the geography was anything but.
Rocket Lab also had a stronger-than-usual month, flying two missions from its Mahia site in New Zealand as part of the U.S. tally. That detail underscores a broader trend: launch nationality and launch location are no longer the same thing, which makes the industry look more global than the scoreboard suggests.
SpaceX still sets the pace
Falcon 9’s 13 launches easily topped the monthly ranking. China’s Long March family followed with 7, while Rocket Lab’s Electron made 3 flights. A Japanese H3, Europe’s Ariane 64 Block 2, and Chinese rockets Zhuque-2E, Lijian-1, and Kuaizhou-11 each flew once.
- Falcon 9: 13 launches
- Long March family: 7 launches
- Electron: 3 launches
- H3, Ariane 64 Block 2, Zhuque-2E, Lijian-1, Kuaizhou-11: 1 launch each
2026 is already ahead of last year
From the start of 2026 through June, there have been 153 orbital launches worldwide, and 5 of them ended in accidents. That is already ahead of the 145 launches recorded over the same stretch last year. If the current pace holds, 2026 has a shot at becoming the busiest year yet for space launches – a title that says as much about demand as it does about hardware.