SpaceX will resume landing rockets in The Bahamas after raining debris on the country last year

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"All requisite regulatory and environmental reviews and clearances have been completed in accordance with aerospace safety and operational protocols."

debris from spacex starship falling over a boat in the ocean
Debris from the upper stage of SpaceX's Starship megarocket is seen in the skies over The Bahamas on March 6, 2025. (Image credit: Stefanie Waldek, used with permission)

SpaceX can land its rockets in The Bahamas again — and will do so very soon, if all goes according to plan.

On Tuesday (Feb. 17), the Civil Aviation Authority of The Bahamas (CAA-B) approved the resumption of Falcon 9 first-stage touchdowns in the nation's waters. The decision ended a lengthy review spurred by a test flight mishap with SpaceX's Starship megarocket, which rained debris down on parts of the island nation nearly a year ago.

SpaceX and The Bahamas announced the rocket-landing collaboration in early 2025. It allows Falcon 9s flying from Florida's Space Coast to reach new orbital trajectories, according to the company. (Most Falcon 9 launches from Florida take a more easterly tack, and their boosters touch down in the open waters of the Atlantic.)

A Falcon 9 booster made its first Bahamian landing exactly one year ago, touching down on a drone ship in the nation's Exuma Sound during a launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites on Feb. 18, 2025.

SpaceX had hoped to make 20 Bahamas touchdowns last year, but the tally remained stuck at one. The Starship test-flight incident occurred on March 6, and on April 15, Bahamian officials announced they had put the partnership on hold, citing the need to conduct an environmental assessment of rocket landings.

But that assessment is now complete, with the results going SpaceX's way. And the company plans to return to The Bahamas very soon.

A Falcon 9 first stage will land on a drone ship in Exuma Sound during the Starlink Group 10-36 mission, which will launch 29 of the broadband satellites to low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff is currently scheduled for Thursday (Feb. 19), during a four-hour window that opens at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT).

Last March's Starship launch was the vehicle's eighth test flight. The ninth, which flew in May, also featured an upper-stage breakup (though not over the Caribbean). But Starship flights 10 and 11 — which launched in August and October, respectively — were both successful.

Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

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