Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. "They're able to have a pretty rapid turnaround. And so, SpaceX will play a huge role in those numbers all by themselves. Now, of course, we just had the Blue Origin New Glenn launch (Thursday) morning," Platt said. "They'll get the bugs out with the landing system. But overall, a very successful launch. And they're going to want to do more, too. They have their own customer base, in fact, even though their company itself has their (Project Kuiper) satellite constellation that they want to launch with the New Glenn. So they're going to play a big part in increasing the launch cadence here along the Space Coast," he said. Back in January 2024, Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez made headlines by publicly predicting more than 111 rockets could launch into orbit by year's end from the Space Coast. The final total of 93 launches fell short of that goal — but it still breezed to a new Florida annual record. The former record was 72 launches in 2023. SpaceX rockets accounted for 88 of last year's 93 liftoffs from the Cape, with United Launch Alliance sending up the other five missions. "I think SpaceX alone, with some augmentation from ULA and certainly Blue Origin, can definitely, certainly break the 2024 record," Platt said. As Space Launch Delta 45 deputy commander for operations, Beg leads a team of 15,000 Space Force, U.S. Air Force and contractor personnel in integrated launch and range operations, according to her military biography. Beg also oversees operations and maintenance of $20 billion in instrumentation and infrastructure for the 15-million-square-mile Eastern Range. During her speech, she said nearly 35% of the world's 263-odd orbital launch attempts last year came from Florida's Space Coast — and she predicted launch rates will continue to rise for at least the next five years. Last week, U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indian Harbour Beach, applauded the men and women powering America’s spaceflight industry during his first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives. "I'm a proud resident of Florida’s Space Coast — the launch pad for America’s journey to the stars since the early days of NASA. But this is not just our past. It is our future," Haridopolos said. "2024 was a record-breaking year for the Space Coast, with 93 successful launches crossing our skies. And in just the first few weeks of 2025, five more launches have taken place, proving that America’s golden age of spaceflight is alive and well," he said on Jan. 14. "This renaissance is powered by the game-changing private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, whose ingenuity has turned spaceflight into a thriving ecosystem of public-private collaboration," he said. Two more launches have occurred since Haridopolos' speech. Wednesday morning, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander and a lunar lander from Japanese aerospace company ispace skyward from KSC. Then Thursday morning, Blue Origin's heavy-lift New Glenn rocket embarked on its high-profile maiden mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.