Commercial space launches from Florida limited to overnight hours

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Florida Today
With government shutdown impacting FAA, commercial space launches from Florida limited to overnight hours
Brooke Edwards, Florida Today
Updated Thu, November 6, 2025 at 11:08 PM EST
1 min read





With the federal government shutdown moving into its second month, the wide-ranging impacts will now hit space launches.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy outlined actions being taken within the Federal Aviation Administration due to the shutdown. In addition to a 10% reduction in flights across 40 of the busiest airports, commercial space launches will also be limited to overnight hours as of Monday, Nov 10.

"It is hereby ordered that, beginning at 6:00 a.m. EST on November 10, 2025, and until this Order is cancelled, Commercial space launches and reentries will only be permitted between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time," a Nov. 6 emergency order states.

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"@USDOT has many responsibilities, but our number one job is safety. This isn’t about politics – it’s about assessing the data and alleviating building risk in the system as controllers continue working without pay. It’s safe to fly today, tomorrow, and the day after because of the proactive actions we are taking," Duffy posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Nov. 6.

This comes at a time when Florida is nearing a record launch year. Some launches, such as Blue Origin's launch of the NASA ESCAPADE mission set for Sunday or a mission to the ISS, must go on time to send the spacecraft on the correct trajectory.

With the long awaited Blue Origin launch being set for the Nov. 9 afternoon hours, if the launch should slip a day it would be right when this curfew takes effect.

It remains to be seen how this will impact upcoming space launches.

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: As shutdown continues, FAA says space launches from Florida impacted