JETTY PARK BEACH/PORT CANAVERAL, FL – SpaceX achieved a record setting launch of two Falcon 9 rockets just 38.5 minutes apart on Saturday night, Aug. 15 with a pair of bicoastal orbital deliveries for Globalstar and the US Space Force from company launch pads in Florida and California.
The record setting launch cadence began with a stunning Saturday evening launch and landing of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Globalstar 2-R Launch 1 mission to low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket with the Globalstar 2-R Launch 1 mission of comsats took place on Saturday, August 15 at 9:12 p.m. ET (0112 UTC), from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The Falcon 9 rocket with first stage booster B1090.14 roared away from pad 40 on a northeasterly trajectory under early nearly cloud free skies
The first booster nailed the landing some eight minutes later at LZ-40 just about 100 feet or so away from pad 40.
Thus the photos show the launch and landing at nearly the same spot – from all around the space coast and beyond
The Carnival cruise ship Freedom was sailing just past Jetty Park pier moments after liftoff and thankfully did not block our view this time.
The cruise ship departing did add a cool element to my long durarion timelapse streak with a long thinning blot line to the ocean
The team of Ken Kremer and Jean Wright observed and photographed the liftoff from Jetty Park bean on the Atlantic ocean along with many, many hundreds of excited spectators on the beach, park and Jetty Park pier who stayed late for the opportunity to witness a launch and landing just 8 minutes apart – accompanied by screaming sonic booms.
Enjoy our photos and timelapse streak shots showing the pier reflecting in the ocean waters
The Globalstar payload comprised 8 comsats to replenish its LEO constellation
Overall this launch marked the 50th launch from the Florida Space Coast in 2026
Globalstar is in the midst of being purchased by Amazon to help expand the Amazon Leo constellation by adding direct to device capabilities and compete with others like SpaceX Starlink
This was the 14th flight for the first stage booster B1090.14 supporting this mission, which previously supported SES O3b mPOWER-E, Crew-10, Bandwagon-3, SES O3b mPOWER-D, CRS-33, and eight Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The second launch of the double header was a classified payload for the United States Space Force on the USSF-366 mission – for which the Space Force disclosed nothing as usual
Liftoff of the 2nd Falcon 9 rocket took place at 6:50 p.m. PDT (9:50 p.m. EDT / 0150 UTC) using booster B1088. It safely landed on the droneship, OCISLY, Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Update: On Aug 16, 2026 I was interviewed live about the record setting launch and more on Fox 35 Orlando
Caption: SpaceX breaks record with dual launches in 38.5 minutes. SpaceX set a new record by launching two Falcon 9 rockets just 38.5 minutes apart, successfully landing both boosters from adjacent launchpads. During a Friday news conference, reporters also pressed NASA officials for updates on Pathfinder and Artemis III. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space Upclose spoke with Garrett Wymer about this feat.
Fox 35 featured several of my Globalstar 2-r launch images
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