SpaceX and China push global orbital launches to a historic high in 2025

Global orbital launches hit a new record in 2025, driven largely by SpaceX and Chinese launch providers.

• The surge matters now as space activity becomes increasingly concentrated among a few dominant players.

• Future growth may slow or shift as demand drivers and launch economics evolve.

• Governments, commercial satellite operators, and national space programs are directly impacted.

Global space activity reached an unprecedented milestone in 2025, with the number of orbital launch attempts climbing to an all-time high, underscoring the growing dominance of SpaceX and China in the modern launch market.

According to an analysis of publicly available data compiled by SpaceNews, there were 324 orbital launch attempts worldwide in 2025, setting a fresh annual record and marking a dramatic expansion of access to space.

A sharp rise in launches

The 324 launches in 2025 represent a 25% increase over the previous record of 259 launches in 2024, which itself had already surpassed 221 launches in 2023. The trend highlights how orbital activity has accelerated rapidly over just three years.

The count excludes suborbital missions, including five SpaceX Starship test flights that did not attempt to reach orbit by design, as well as three HASTE launches using a modified version of Rocket Lab’s Electron.

SpaceX dominates the global count

At the center of this surge is SpaceX, which flew an extraordinary 165 Falcon 9 missions in 2025. That figure alone exceeded the combined total of all other launch providers worldwide, reinforcing the company’s position as the backbone of global orbital access.

Much of SpaceX’s cadence continues to be driven by deployment of its Starlink satellite constellation, alongside commercial, civil, and national security missions.

For perspective, in 2020, when there were just 107 orbital launches globally, SpaceX conducted 26 Falcon 9 missions, a fraction of its current annual output.