Honestly, trying to keep up with Elon Musk’s launch schedule feels a bit like trying to count raindrops in a hurricane. You blink, and another Falcon 9 is punching through the clouds. If you’ve been looking for the hard number on how many launches has SpaceX done in 2024, the answer is 138.
That is a wild jump from the 98 they managed in 2023. We’re talking about an orbital launch roughly every 2.7 days. Think about that for a second. While most aerospace companies celebrate a handful of successful missions a year, SpaceX is basically running a literal bus service to low Earth orbit.
🔗 Read more: Mint mobile 3 month unlimited plan sim kit: Is it actually worth the hype?
Breaking Down the 138 Launches
It’s easy to just look at the total and move on, but the nuance is where things get interesting. Not all of these were the same kind of mission. The "workhorse" title doesn't even begin to cover the Falcon 9.
- Falcon 9: 132 missions.
- Falcon Heavy: 2 missions.
- Starship: 4 test flights (specifically the "near-orbit" or "full stack" attempts).
You've probably noticed that most of these are for Starlink. You aren't wrong. About two-thirds of the 2024 manifest was dedicated to launching those flat-packed internet satellites. Specifically, 89 out of the 134 Falcon-family launches were Starlink-focused. The rest? Those were the "high stakes" missions: NASA crews, massive national security satellites, and private moon landers.
Why 138 is a "Failed" Success
Here is the weird part. Despite shattering the world record for the most launches by a single company in a year, SpaceX technically "missed" their own internal goal. Early in 2024, the chatter was all about hitting 144 or even 150 launches.
Life, however, happens. Even when you're the most efficient rocket company on the planet.
SpaceX hit a few speed bumps that cooled the jets. In July, a Falcon 9 upper stage had a liquid oxygen leak that resulted in a rare failure, grounding the fleet for about two weeks while the FAA poked around. Then there was a booster tipping over on a droneship in August—the first landing failure in years—which caused another brief pause.
Most companies would take years to recover from a mid-flight failure. SpaceX was back on the pad in 15 days. It’s that "move fast and fix things" culture that allowed them to still end the year at 138. Honestly, if you told a NASA engineer in the 90s that a private company would launch 138 times in one year and people would call it a "slight underperformance," they’d think you were hallucinating.
The Starship Factor
While the Falcon 9 did the heavy lifting, the four Starship launches in 2024 were the real "Discovery Channel" moments. We saw the first successful soft splashdown of both the booster and the ship. Then, in October, they did the "Chopsticks" catch. Watching a 230-foot-tall stainless steel tower catch a falling rocket out of the sky was peak 2024.
These aren't just "tests" anymore. They are the blueprint for how SpaceX plans to double their launch numbers again. If Starship becomes operational, counting how many launches has SpaceX done in 2024 will seem like child's play compared to the 2026 or 2027 numbers.
Beyond the Numbers: The Global Impact
SpaceX didn't just beat other companies; they basically beat the rest of the world combined. China—the next closest "competitor"—managed 68 launches in 2024. Russia did 17.
When you look at the total mass sent to space, the gap gets even scarier. SpaceX is responsible for roughly 90% of all the mass humans put into orbit this year. If you want to put something in space, you basically have to call Hawthorne, California.
Key 2024 Mission Highlights
- Polaris Dawn: This was the mission where private citizens did a spacewalk. It also reached the highest Earth orbit for humans since the Apollo days.
- Europa Clipper: A massive NASA probe sent to check out Jupiter’s icy moon. It launched on a Falcon Heavy because the mission needed that extra "oomph."
- Crew-8 and Crew-9: Continuing the taxi service to the International Space Station.
What This Means for You
So, what's the takeaway from all this? First, space is no longer "rare." It’s an industrial zone. The sheer volume of Starlink launches means global high-speed internet is no longer a luxury for people in rural areas; it's a utility.
Second, the reliability of the Falcon 9 has reached a point where we almost take it for granted. Out of 134 Falcon launches, 133 were complete successes. That 99.3% success rate is the gold standard of the industry.
If you're tracking the 2025 schedule, expect the pace to accelerate. SpaceX is already eyeing 160+ launches for the coming year. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, keep an eye on the Vandenberg launches in California—they’ve almost doubled their capacity this year to handle the overflow from Florida.
To get the most out of this rapidly changing landscape, keep a "launch tracker" app on your phone. Most of these missions are livestreamed with high-def cameras on the rocket itself, and they are genuinely more entertaining than 90% of what's on Netflix right now. Whether it's a routine Starlink batch or a Starship test, watching the future of humanity's expansion into the solar system is a front-row seat you don't want to miss.