Before there was Falcon 9, there was Falcon 1. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, who sought to create a rocket that would not only lower launch costs, but make humanity a spacefaring species. The company took the first steps with its Falcon rocket, which was named for the Stars Wars Millennium Falcon. The single engine Falcon 1 rocket first launched on March 24, 2006, from Kwajalein Atoll, which is in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The launch was a failure — as were the following two. Falcon 1 reached orbit on its fourth flight in September of 2008. This made SpaceX the first privately funded company to reach orbit with a liquid-fueled rocket. The fifth and last flight of the Falcon 1 was in July 2009 − as SpaceX's new nine-engine Falcon rocket was ready for debut from Cape Canaveral. First SpaceX Florida launch of Falcon 9 The space shuttle's days were numbered as NASA waited for SpaceX to successfully launch its Falcon 9 rocket, which would carry SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to orbit. NASA was counting on SpaceX and Dragon to carry its astronauts to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 first launched on June 4, 2010, from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40. Its payload: a test Dragon spacecraft. The launch was a success as the test Dragon spacecraft was placed into orbit. But the success went beyond Dragon. Florida was about to see the space industry change forever thanks to the Falcon 9. The space shuttle made its final flight in July 2011. NASA had signed a Commercial Crew contract with SpaceX for Falcon 9 and Dragon and with Boeing for Starliner. Neither was ready. That would take years. But in 2012, SpaceX began resupply missions to bring cargo to the ISS flying the cargo on a Dragon and launching atop a Falcon 9. Meanwhile, NASA, waiting for an American ride to space, partnered with Roscosmos to rotate U.S. astronauts back and forth to the space station. First Cape Canaveral landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster On December 21, 2015, Florida watched as for the first time in history a rocket's first stage returned to land in one piece. Up until this point, the concept was science fiction. Typically, a rocket's first-stage was permitted to break apart in the atmosphere or be discarded in the ocean. Up until this point, SpaceX either discarded or lost the booster. But returning the booster was necessary to reuse the rocket and bring costs down. That night in 2015, Florida saw a landing burn for the first time as the Falcon 9's booster descended for a landing at the Cape Canaveral Landing Zone, announcing its arrival with a sonic boom heard throughout the area. First SpaceX drone ship landing from Florida Next came landing on drone ships in the ocean. Falcon 9 boosters landing on drone ships after launch, followed by the return of the drone ship and booster to Port Canaveral, are commonplace these days. Looking back, it took SpaceX years to land a booster successfully on a drone ship. The first occurrence was on April 8, 2016 – following a resupply mission to the ISS from Space Launch Complex 40. Earlier attempts ended in mishaps on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship, including a booster landing on its side and breaking apart in January 2015. Of Course I Still Love You has since moved to the West Coast to support the growing number of launches from Vandenburg. The drone ships supporting Florida are Just Read the Instructions and A Shortfall of Gravitas. First SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch The triple Falcon 9 heavy lift rocket, known as a Falcon Heavy, first took off on February 6, 2018, from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A. The mission carried a test payload, which was a red Tesla Roadster with a SpaceX mannequin inside. The car was released into space. Following the launch, the two side boosters landed on Landing Zones 1 and 2 in Cape Canaveral, creating double sonic booms throughout the Space Coast. SpaceX tried, but failed to recover the core Falcon 9 booster of the triple rocket. That aim has proved difficult, and SpaceX currently does not even attempt it anymore. This is most likely due to an effort to save fuel and get higher masses to orbit. The heavy lift rocket has since flown multiple missions. The most recent launch was Europa Clipper back in October 2024. The next Falcon Heavy launch date has yet to be revealed. First SpaceX Starlink launch from Florida