On Sunday, September 13, 2026, SpaceX successfully launched three O3b mPOWER communication satellites for Luxembourg-based SES aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission marked a return to flight for SpaceX after a two-week gap in launches from Florida.
The Falcon 9, part of the mPOWER-F mission, took off at 2:49 p.m. from Space Launch Complex 40, deploying the final three of the 13 satellites built by Boeing Space into medium-Earth orbit at around 5,000 miles altitude. The first-stage booster completed its 29th flight and made a successful landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX’s launch cadence has slowed, particularly with a focus on refining its Starship program at Kennedy Space Center, which has limited missions primarily to Falcon Heavy launches. This year, only two Falcon Heavy rockets have flown.
As of now, SpaceX has not scheduled any upcoming missions from Florida, focusing instead on commercial clients and crucial crew and cargo flights using its Dragon spacecraft. The Crew-13 mission, which includes astronaut Luke Delaney, has been delayed and is expected to launch no earlier than the end of September, pending resolution of an issue with the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Overall, the recent Falcon 9 launch was the 56th of the year from Florida, with SpaceX responsible for all but seven of those. Other launch providers, like United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin, have had limited activity, with ULA flying five missions and Blue Origin launching once but facing delays due to launch pad damage.
