SpaceX conducted three successful launches within 13 hours

The streak began on March 14 at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT), when the Crew-10 mission lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit, carrying four astronauts: NASA’s Anne McClain (commander) and Nichole Ayers (pilot), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos’ Kirill Peskov, bound for the ISS.

This mission was critical to retrieving NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stranded on the ISS for over nine months due to malfunctions with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The Crew Dragon successfully docked with the ISS on March 16 at 12:04 a.m. EDT, initiating the Crew-10 team’s six-month stint.

Less than eight hours later, on March 15 at 2:43 a.m. EDT, SpaceX launched its Transporter-13 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This rideshare mission saw another Falcon 9 rocket deliver 74 diverse payloads into orbit, including CubeSats, microsatellites, and an orbital transfer vehicle.

Notably, this flight marked a historic milestone for SpaceX: the 400th successful landing of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster. The reusable booster touched down upright at Vandenberg, further proving the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of SpaceX’s rocket design.

The third and final launch occurred on March 15 at 7:35 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission deployed 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), expanding SpaceX’s global internet network.

The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster, B1078, completed its 18th flight and successfully landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 600 kilometers offshore. This rapid turnaround three launches across two states in under 13 hours sets a new benchmark for SpaceX’s operational tempo.

SpaceX’s collaboration with NASA has been a cornerstone of its recent successes, particularly with the Crew-10 mission. NASA’s reliance on SpaceX to bring Wilmore and Williams home highlights confidence in the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket.

The astronauts had originally traveled to the ISS in June 2024 on Boeing’s Starliner for an intended eight-day mission, but technical issues rendered their return unsafe. NASA opted to return the Starliner uncrewed and arranged for Wilmore and Williams to come back via the Crew-9 capsule in late March 2025, once Crew-10 arrived to relieve them.

Crew-10 commander Anne McClain praised the collaborative effort in a post-launch statement: “Thank you to all the teams around the world who contributed to today’s launch. Spaceflight is hard.” This mission exemplifies the strong synergy between NASA and SpaceX, blending private-sector innovation with government oversight to ensure the safety and success of human spaceflight.

The third launch in this sequence bolsters SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which now comprises thousands of satellites providing high-speed internet worldwide. Of the 23 satellites launched, several featured direct-to-cell capabilities, enabling direct communication with mobile devices. So far in 2025, SpaceX has conducted 31 Falcon 9 missions, with roughly two-thirds dedicated to Starlink, making it the largest satellite network to date.

On March 15, Elon Musk announced that the company’s next-generation Starship rocket would embark on an uncrewed mission to Mars by late 2026, carrying Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus.

Musk views this as a precursor to crewed Mars missions, potentially as early as 2029, though he acknowledged 2031 as a more realistic timeline. This bold plan aligns with SpaceX’s broader goal of making humanity a multiplanetary species.

The success of three launches in such a short timeframe is a triumph of engineering and logistics. SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket, paired with its autonomous droneships and ground infrastructure, enables an unprecedented launch cadence.

The company broke its previous record for the fastest launch pad turnaround at Cape Canaveral, executing the Starlink mission just over 12 hours after Crew-10. This efficiency not only reduces costs but also accelerates the pace of space exploration and commercialization.

The 400th booster landing during the Transporter-13 mission further solidifies SpaceX’s leadership in reusable rocket technology. Each successful recovery lowers the barrier to space access, enabling more frequent missions for NASA, commercial clients, and SpaceX’s own projects.