Vandenberg Wins Approval for 100 Annual Launches as SpaceX Drives Record 66 Missions
Updated
Updated · KMPH Fox 26 · Jun 20
Vandenberg Wins Approval for 100 Annual Launches as SpaceX Drives Record 66 Missions
1 articles · Updated · KMPH Fox 26 · Jun 20
Summary
Vandenberg Space Force Base is now cleared for up to 100 rocket launches a year after the Air Force granted the authorization last October, a sharp jump for a site that averaged fewer than 10 annually for decades.
SpaceX is expected to account for most of that traffic with Falcon 9 missions, largely tied to Starlink deployments, and the base is also authorized for up to five Falcon Heavy launches.
66 launches in 2025 made last year Vandenberg's busiest on record, up from 47 in 2024, and the base is already on pace to exceed 80 launches this year.
The rebound is striking for a spaceport that logged just three launches in 2019 and one in 2020 after years of decline that followed the cancellation of planned West Coast Space Shuttle flights in 1986.
Vandenberg's location on California's Central Coast gives it a key advantage for polar-orbit missions, sending rockets south over the Pacific and helping keep it the world's second-busiest spaceport behind Cape Canaveral.
As Vandenberg's launch rate soars, is the hidden environmental cost in our atmosphere and orbit too high a price for progress?
With SpaceX dominating a vital US spaceport, what happens if our primary access to space suddenly goes dark?
100 Launches a Year: How Vandenberg’s Expansion is Transforming Space Access and the Central Coast
Overview
In October 2025, the U.S. Department of the Air Force approved SpaceX’s proposal to double annual launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base from 50 to 100, including up to five Falcon Heavy missions each year. This expansion responds to the rising demand for space access, especially for polar orbit missions, which Vandenberg is uniquely suited to support. Polar orbits allow satellites to observe nearly all of Earth’s surface, making them ideal for Earth-observation. The increased launch capacity strengthens national security, supports the deployment of large satellite constellations, and highlights Vandenberg’s growing role in the evolving space industry.