SPACE
Mid-year launch check: the cadence record will fall again — the interesting part is who’s second
Our tracker puts the year on pace for another record. Beneath the headline number, the middle of the league table is being rewritten.
Aerospace Garage desk
Half the year is gone and our launch tracker points to another record: global orbital attempts are running ahead of last year’s pace, and the second half is traditionally denser. The record itself is no longer news — what changes each year is the shape of the table beneath it.
The story of 2026 so far is the middle tier. Isar reached orbit from Andøya, Firefly is flying paid lunar and LEO missions back-to-back, LandSpace has reflown a methane booster, and Skyroot has moved from demonstration to commercial rideshare. Five years ago that tier barely existed; it is now absorbing the small-payload demand the majors price out.
Watch the fourth quarter: three debut vehicles are holding Q4 windows, and if even two fly, 2026 ends with more active orbital launch systems than any year in history.
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