In 2020, 31 successful attempts flew from Florida’s Space Coast surpassing the record in 1966.
COCOA BEACH, Fla. (PRWEB) January 18, 2021
Historical launches like the return to crewed space flight and Mars2020 helped propel Florida’s Space Coast to their busiest launch year in decades, putting the region on the top of the list for launch activity in the world.
In 2020, 31 successful attempts flew from Florida’s Space Coast surpassing the record in 1966 of 29 successful launches out of 31 orbital attempts and two suborbital attempts. SpaceX missions comprised 25 of the launches including Starlink internet satellites, two Crew Dragon and two space station resupply missions, and three national security payloads. United Launch Alliance contributed with five Atlas V launches, one of which was Mars2020, and one Delta Heavy.
“2020 certainly had us living up to our name,” said Peter Cranis, Executive Director, Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism. “I can’t imagine a better destination to bring your family and enjoy a launch, the beach, and all the other great amenities we have here.”
2020 was also one of the busiest years for launching across the globe tying with 2018 for 114 launch attempts; the most orbital launches globally since 1990 during the Cold War. Florida’s Space Coast ranked as the number one location for both successful and total launches, topping the 2nd and 3rd place locations combined (Jijquan, China with 13 attempts and two failures and Xichang, China with 13 attempts and one failure). The United States was the number 1 country as a whole, with 44 attempted launches, 40 of them being successful.
Looking ahead, 2021 will continue to be a banner year for space history on Florida’s Space Coast. Significant launches include Crew 2 and Boeing’s Starliner uncrewed test set for March, Starliner’s crew test launch, a possible unmanned test flight for Neptune 1 (Space Perspective’s tourist space flight program), Crew 3 scheduled for the Fall, the possibility of Tom Cruise launching in the first private commercial flight to film the first movie in space, and the continued efforts of NASA on the road to the Artemis program.
Head to VisitSpaceCoast.com/launches for helpful information and the launch schedule.
About Florida’s Space Coast:
Florida’s Space Coast is a family-friendly destination located 45 minutes east of Orlando and encompasses Cocoa Beach, Melbourne and the Beaches, Port Canaveral, Titusville, Palm Bay and Viera. It’s home to the world’s second-busiest cruise port and 72 miles of beaches (the longest stretch in the state), as well as 190,000 acres of wetlands and waterways full of habitat found nowhere else. Florida’s Space Coast is home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where rockets still soar into orbit. For more information, contact Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism at (877) 572-3224 or visit https://www.visitspacecoast.com.