Honestly, standing on the Space Coast right now feels different. There’s this weird, electric hum in the air that you only get when the schedule is actually packed. If you’ve spent any time looking at Cape Canaveral upcoming launches recently, you know the vibe. It’s no longer just about the occasional satellite. We are officially in the era where "space traffic" is a legitimate concern for local commuters on A1A.
People think they can just show up and see a rocket whenever. Technically? Yeah, the cadence is high. But if you want to see the big stuff—the missions that actually change the course of human history—you have to look past the weekly Starlink runs. 2026 is shaping up to be the year where things get "lunar" in a big way.
The Big One: Artemis II and the Moon
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Artemis II. It’s currently slated for No Earlier Than (NET) February 2026. This isn't just another test. This is four humans—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—strapped into an Orion capsule on top of the Space Launch System (SLS).
They aren't landing yet. That’s Artemis III. But they are going around the moon.
You should know that this launch is going to be absolute chaos for the Merritt Island area. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of people. The SLS Block 1 is a beast. It produces about 8.8 million pounds of thrust. For context, that’s about 15% more than the Saturn V. When this thing goes off from Launch Complex 39B, you don't just hear it. You feel it in your bone marrow.
The SpaceX Drumbeat
SpaceX basically owns the Florida coastline at this point. If you’re looking for Cape Canaveral upcoming launches in the immediate future, look at the Falcon 9.
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- January 14, 2026: Starlink 6-98 is scheduled for a 1:01 PM liftoff from SLC-40.
- January 18, 2026: Another batch of Starlink satellites (Group 6-100) is aiming for a late afternoon window around 5:04 PM.
These missions are the bread and butter of the Space Coast. They’re predictable, sure, but the landing is still the coolest part. Watching a booster fall out of the sky and stick the landing on a drone ship like A Shortfall of Gravitas never really gets old.
But the real SpaceX highlight for early 2026 is Crew-12. NASA and SpaceX have targeted February 15, 2026, to send the next international crew to the International Space Station. This one is launching from SLC-40, which is interesting because SpaceX has been upgrading that pad to handle crewed missions, giving them more flexibility than just using the historic 39A.
The New Players and the "Silent" Launches
It's not all Elon Musk and NASA. We’re finally seeing the heavy hitters from other companies start to move their hardware to the pads. United Launch Alliance (ULA) has a big one coming up.
On February 2, 2026, a Vulcan Centaur is scheduled to lift off from SLC-41. This is the USSF-87 mission for the Space Force. It’s classified. You won’t get a cool play-by-play of what’s inside the fairing, but the Vulcan is a gorgeous rocket to watch. It uses those blue-flame BE-4 engines from Blue Origin, and the sound profile is totally different from a Falcon 9.
Speaking of Blue Origin, everyone is looking at New Glenn. We’ve seen the hardware. We’ve seen the pathfinders. The "Blue Moon" Pathfinder mission is loosely penciled in for late January or early February. Blue Origin is notorious for being "Gradatim Ferociter" (step by step, ferociously), which usually just means "slowly." But 2026 is when that giant rocket needs to prove it can actually fly from LC-36.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Viewing
Don't go to the pier.
Seriously. Everyone goes to the Cocoa Beach Pier or Jetty Park. They’re fine, but they’re crowded and far. If you want a real experience for Cape Canaveral upcoming launches, you want to be on the Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville or along US-1.
If it's a Falcon 9 launching from SLC-40, you’re looking for a clear line of sight across the Indian River. If it’s an SLS launch from 39B, Titusville is basically your front-row seat. Just be prepared for the "scrub." Rockets are finicky. A sensor reads 1% off, or a cloud looks a bit too "electrified," and everyone goes home.
Realities of the 2026 Schedule
We have to be honest about the dates. In the space industry, a "scheduled" date is really just a "suggestion."
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The Crew-11 mission currently on the ISS is actually cutting its stay short due to a medical situation. This kind of stuff ripples through the whole schedule. If Crew-11 comes home early, it shifts the docking availability for Crew-12. If the SLS has a liquid hydrogen leak during a wet dress rehearsal, Artemis II slides three months.
That’s why you need to watch the weather and the "L-1" briefings. The 45th Weather Squadron is the most important group of people you’ve never heard of. They’re the ones who decide if the Florida humidity is going to ruin your Tuesday plans.
Actionable Steps for Launch Chasers
If you're planning to catch one of these, do these three things:
- Download the Space Coast Launches app. It’s more accurate than most news sites because it pulls directly from the Air Force and NASA feeds.
- Book your hotel in Titusville or Cape Canaveral at least 4 months in advance for Artemis II or any crewed mission. Prices triple the week of the launch.
- Check the "Hazard Area" maps. If you have a boat, don't be the guy who wanders into the restricted zone and causes a scrub. The entire community will hate you.
Keep an eye on the Vulcan Centaur flight in February. It’s the real test of whether ULA can keep up with the SpaceX launch cadence. If that goes well, the Space Force is going to start moving a lot more national security hardware through Florida this summer.
The era of once-a-month launches is dead. Welcome to the era of the weekly roar.