When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image: © Space.com / Josh Dinner) The pace of rocket launches has ballooned in recent years, making it a challenge to know what mission is launching and when. In this launch guide, the Space.com news team aims to keep you up to date on the latest rocket launches. If there is a rocket launch today, you'll details below on what vehicle it is (odds are high it would be SpaceX, if we're being honest), as well as its mission and where to watch live if a webcast is available. If there is NOT a rocket launch today, you'll find an update on when the next mission is scheduled to fly. Check out our Space Calendar for more details on future rocket launches, night sky events and more. Next launch on Jan. 2: SpaceX Falcon 9 With SpaceX's successful Dec. 30 launch of 21 Starlink satellites, the launch year for 2024 is all wrapped up. So let's look ahead to the first launches of 2025 for your planning. I've sourced these launch dates from rocket watches across the internet, including Spaceflight Now and others. Next Launch: The next rocket launch will be a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch on Jan. 2. The mission will launch the Thuraya 4 communications satellite for the United Arab Emirates company Yahsat. Liftoff is set for 12 a.m. EST (0500 GMT), so that means it is an overnight launch. Call it some late New Year's Ever rocket launch fireworks. SpaceX Starlink launch on Jan. 5: SpaceX is also expected to launch its next Starlink satellite mission on Jan. 5 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:10 p.m. EST (1710 GMT). Blue Origin New Glenn launch on Jan. 6? Blue Origin's first New Glenn rocket is assembled and nearly ready for its launch debut. Currently, a launch is expected for no earlier than Jan. 6 from Blue Origin's pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but this scheduled could change as it's a new launch vehicle. Spacex Starship Flight 7: SpaceX's next Starship test flight is also exppected in early January, possibly on Jan. 10 or Jan. 11 from the company's pad at its Starbase facility in South Texas near Boca Chical beach. The company has typically targeted launches in the early am, but did launch Flight 6 at 5 p.m. ET in November. So it's going to be a pretty busy start to the 2025 launch year, Space Fans. We'll have our next update to confirm the SpaceX YahSat launch on Jan. 1. 2024-12-30T17:22:43.037Z