Data source: SPACE. COM Drawing: Oriental Wealth Research Center
On December 26th, the commercial aerospace sector continued to strengthen. On the news side, at 7:26 on December 26, the Long March 8A carrier rocket ignited and took off at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site in Hainan, and then sent 17 groups of satellite Internet LEO satellites into the scheduled orbit. The launch mission was a complete success. So far, according to data from the US website SPACE.COM, China has conducted 89 rocket launches since 2025, surpassing the 68 launches in 2024 and setting a new historical annual high.
Globally, as of December 26, 2025, the number of rocket launches has reached 337, surpassing the 263 launches in 2024 and setting a new historical high. Among them, SpaceX has launched the most times, reaching 170 times. China's aerospace technology closely followed suit, launching 70 times within the year. Rocket Lab and Blue Origin from the United States ranked third and fourth, launching 21 and 11 times respectively this year. Roscosmos ranks fifth with 10 launches within the year.
From the perspective of rocket models, SpaceX's Falcon 9 has become the "busiest" rocket of 2025, with 165 launches. China's Long March series rockets followed closely behind, taking off 66 times within the year. Rocket Lab's Electron rocket ranks third with 18 launches this year. The Blue Origin's New Shepard and Russia's Soyuz 2.1a also rank high in terms of the number of launches.
From the perspective of launch sites, Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in the United States is the busiest, having undertaken 82 rocket launches this year. Vandenberg San Francisco base followed closely behind, undertaking 66 rocket launches within the year. Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ranks third and has undertaken 33 rocket launches during the year. Kennedy Space Center and Xichang Satellite Launch Center were also places with a high number of rocket launches this year, with 27 and 18 launches respectively.
If we count from the location of rocket launches, the United States is the country with the most rocket launches this year, with 194 launches. China followed closely behind with 89 rocket launches. New Zealand ranks third with 17 launches (all of which were carried out by Rocket Lab's electron rocket).
Looking ahead to 2026, Dongwu Securities believes that the two major links of satellites and rockets will form a "supply-demand resonance" situation, promoting the entire aerospace industry to enter a rapid expansion stage. Long Kaicong, Vice Chairman and Secretary of Zhongguancun Leading Innovation Commercial Aerospace Industry Alliance, bluntly stated that the global aerospace industry has entered the "weekly launch era".
