Rockets launch almost every day in the US. Here's why even more are ahead - USA Today

Nearly 4,300 rocket launches are expected in the next decade amid NASA's Artemis moon program, demand for satellite deliveries to Earth orbit and crewed missions to the International Space Station.

- The FAA predicts commercial rocket launches will dramatically increase over the next decade.

- NASA's Artemis moon missions and commercial satellite deployments are driving the surge in launches.

- Florida and California, the primary launch states, have already seen record-breaking years for rocket activity.

- The U.S. government is considering easing regulations and using offshore platforms to accommodate the growing demand.

Back in April, people around the world paused their days to collectively watch in awe as four intrepid astronauts were launched into space toward the moon atop NASA's most powerful rocket ever.

That mission, known as Artemis II, captivated the public for 10 days as three Americans and one Canadian made a trip around the moon and back to Earth. To many observers, Artemis II signified the dawn of a new era of space exploration as NASA aims to return Americans to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

But while the mission has without a doubt been the most high-profile launch of 2026 – reigniting public interest in human spaceflight in a way not seen since the Apollo era – it hardly stands alone.

By now, rockets are launching almost every day from U.S. soil – most without people aboard. In fact, just one other mission so far in 2026 – a joint NASA and SpaceX mission launched Feb. 13 to the International Space Station known as Crew-12 – sent astronauts to space.

Rocket launches in the United States have become so routine that most barely warrant news headlines. Americans, meanwhile, have become so accustomed to them that most barely bat an eye even when SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 rocket multiple times a week and then makes it look easy to return its first-stage booster for a bull's-eye landing on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

And while both the east and west coasts have ushered in record year after record year for launches, rockets are only due to fly more and more frequently in the years ahead.

Here's why rocket launches are predicted to dramatically increase in the United States, and what that means for Americans and the spaceflight industry.

FAA predicts commercial rocket launches to spike in next decade

As NASA increasingly cedes spaceflight missions to commercial companies that were once the realm of government space agencies, those sorts of missions have steadily been increasing year after year.

For instance, SpaceX, the commercial spaceflight company founded by tech mogul Elon Musk, has launched its Falcon 9 rocket hundreds of times from California and Florida – making it by far the most active rocket in the world. The two-stage 230-foot rocket is not only used to deliver SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites to Earth orbit, but is also used to propel astronauts to the space station and is contracted for a variety of commercial, civil and military payload deployments.

Now, the Federal Aviation Administration – which licenses commercial rocket launches – says the rate of rocket launches across the United States is only expected to grow in the next decade.

The FAA is predicting nearly 4,300 launches between fiscal 2026-2036, with spaceflights increasing annually from more than 200 a year to more than 500, according to the agency's 10-year forecast released in July.

Florida, California have record year in 2025 for rocket launches

The projection should be no surprise to even casual observers of the spaceflight industry in the United States.

Florida and California – the states where rockets are most commonly launched – both saw record years in 2025.

The Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County in Southern California hosted a record 71 rocket launches last year, thanks to SpaceX and its workhorse Falcon 9. The base is on track to shatter that record in 2026 after hitting its milestone 50th launch July 21 – about two months earlier than in 2025.