SpaceX had targeted 4:59 p.m. Thursday to send up the Falcon 9, but the company moved the Starlink 6-96 mission to a new Friday afternoon launch window.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch Starlink satellites on January 9, 2026, from Cape Canaveral between 1:03 p.m. and 5:03 p.m

The increasing number of commercial space launches and the upward trend in upmass serve as unmistakable signs of space industry growth. Space is a high-risk, high-reward industry, however. Space launches are expensive, and space companies often operate at a loss for years while developing their businesses.