Washington DC: SpaceX achieved a major operational milestone by launching two Falcon 9 rockets from opposite coasts of the United States just 38.5 minutes apart, setting a company record for the shortest gap between orbital missions.
The dual launches, carried out on Saturday evening local time, broke SpaceX's previous record of 65 minutes, set in August 2024, highlighting the company's rapid launch cadence and reusable rocket capabilities.
The first mission lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9.12 p.m. EDT (1.12 a.m. GMT on Sunday), carrying eight low Earth orbit satellites for satellite communications company Globalstar.
The satellites were successfully deployed over a six-minute window beginning about 56 minutes after liftoff, expanding Globalstar's satellite constellation.
Just 38.5 minutes later, at 9.50 p.m. EDT (1.50 a.m. GMT on Sunday), a second Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying the classified USSF-366 payload for the US Space Force.
Both missions featured successful landings of their Falcon 9 first-stage boosters, adding to SpaceX's record of reusable rocket operations.
The Globalstar mission's booster, B1090, completed its 14th flight before making a vertical touchdown at Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 40 about eight minutes after liftoff.
The USSF-366 booster, B1088, completed its 18th flight before landing on the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
The recovery marked the 650th successful Falcon booster landing in SpaceX's history.
The Globalstar launch, which had been delayed from an earlier May schedule to allow for satellite preparations, is expected to strengthen network continuity for direct-to-device communications services.
Globalstar Chief Executive Paul E Jacobs described the successful deployment as an important step in strengthening the infrastructure supporting global consumer and enterprise communications.
The launch also comes as Globalstar advances a planned acquisition deal with Amazon to support its satellite broadband ambitions.
Saturday's back-to-back missions brought SpaceX's total number of orbital flights in 2026 to 96, further reinforcing its dominant position in the global commercial launch market.