The Eastern Range is an American rocket range (Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Managed by Space Launch Delta 45 of the U.S. Space Force, it provides world-class range services to launch customers including NASA, Department of Defense, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance. The Eastern Range utilizes ground, vehicle, and space-based tracking and telemetry systems to monitor launch and reentry operations. Key associated keywords include: space launch, range safety, Cape Canaveral, and mission support.
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Space Launch Delta 45 supported five distinct types of orbital launch vehicles from the Eastern Range in April 2026.
Space Launch Delta 45 traces its lineage to the former 45th Space Wing, which pursued a 2017 “Drive to 48” goal of roughly one Eastern Range launch per week.
The Blackstar Orbital and Starfighters Space program will culminate in a high-altitude supersonic release in the Eastern Range off the Florida Atlantic Coast.
Florida’s Eastern Range launch corridor is served by a single transport lane, a shared commodity supply network, and a hurricane-exposed coastline.
The U.S. Space Force has an internal target of 500 launches per year from Florida’s Eastern Range by 2030.
Space Launch Delta 45 leadership expects launch activity from the Eastern Range to continue growing toward hundreds of launches per year.
Atlas V, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan accounted for the non-SpaceX orbital launches from the Eastern Range in 2025.
The Drive for 48 initiative aimed to support 48 launches per year from the Eastern Range: one per week with two two-week maintenance periods.
The Air Force’s 45th Space Wing launched the Drive for 48 initiative around 2018 to support an increased launch rate at the Eastern Range, including Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The Eastern Range is considering redeveloping Space Launch Complex 46 for large launch vehicles.
The Eastern Range announced an initiative called 'Drive to 48' in 2017 to host 48 launches a year.
The Eastern Range hosted nearly double its goal with 93 launches in 2024.
United Launch Alliance performed five launches from the Eastern Range in 2024.
Space Launch Delta 45 implemented new processes in 2024 to reduce turnaround times between launches on the Eastern Range.
SpaceX accounted for 88 of 93 launches from the Eastern Range in Florida, which includes Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX received permission from the Eastern Range in 2020 to conduct Falcon 9 launches on southern trajectories to access polar orbits from Cape Canaveral.
Space Launch Delta 45 operates the Eastern Range, which includes the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
USSF-31 is a classified mission that will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket from the Eastern range.
NROL-64 will launch aboard United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket from the Eastern range.
Space Launch Delta 45 is the Space Force unit that oversees launch operations in the Eastern Range.