SpaceX Sets Launch-Cadence Record: Two Falcon 9 Missions 38.5 Minutes Apart, 650th Booster Landing

SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets from opposite US coasts just 38 minutes and 31 seconds apart on August 15, 2026, shattering its previous dual-launch turnaround record of 65 minutes (set August 2024) and bringing SpaceX's 2026 Falcon 9/Heavy tally to 96 missions. The Globalstar 2-R replenishment mission (8 satellites) lifted off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9:12 p.m. EDT (0112 UTC), with booster B1090 (14th flight) landing at Landing Zone 40 roughly 8 minutes later — the 52nd orbital launch from Florida's Space Coast in 2026. Approximately 38.5 minutes later, the classified USSF-366 mission for the U.S. Space Force lifted off from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 6:50 p.m. PDT (0150 UTC), with booster B1088 (18th flight) landing on the droneship 'Of Course I Still Love You' in the Pacific — marking the 650th successful Falcon booster landing in company history.