The New Year is right around the corner.
Aside from the parties, hangovers and resolutions never kept, the new year is a time not only for reflection but for looking ahead. Here on the Space Coast there was no shortage of news in 2025 and if your windows are rattling that’s probably just one of the 109 launches that took pace this year.
We (knock on wood) dodged another hurricane season without seeing a major storm. If the growth in the tech and aerospace industries, as well as major expansion at Port Canaveral are any indicators, we may see a strong housing market in the coming year.
The Brevard County Commission approved a record-setting $2.5 billion budget that saw an increase in pay for law enforcement and firefighters. We mourned the death of longtime FLORIDA TODAY publisher Michael Coleman in March as well as local leader and public servant Dick Blake in June. We also saw Brevard County’s death row roster decrease by one when the state executed Bryan Jennings in November, 46 years after he raped and murdered a child on Merritt Island.
Without further ado, here is a look back at some major stories we brought you in 2025 and a look ahead to what you might expect in 2026.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are pictured addressing the media
Boeing Starliner astronauts return home after spacecraft issues
The first major space story of 2025 centered on the return of the Starliner astronauts, Butch Willmore and Sunita Williams. After the Starliner spacecraft experienced a thruster malfunction while attempting to dock with the International Space Station in June 2024, Willmore and Williams found themselves extending their stay aboard the space station by an extra nine months—far longer than the originally planned two weeks.
Following Crew-10’s launch to the ISS, both returned to Earth on March 18, 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon that had launched months earlier with an adjusted Crew-9.
What’s next for Boeing’s Starliner?
NASA has repeatedly stated it wants Starliner as a redundancy option alongside SpaceX’s Dragon. Both were contracted in 2014 to transport astronauts to the ISS as NASA shifted focus towards the moon.
While SpaceX has completed 12 NASA missions, Starliner is still in the certification phase.
In 2026 we can expect to see Starliner fly again on an uncrewed cargo mission. Depending on the success of that flight, Starliner will carry three more crew rotations to the space station — that is before the planned 2030 decommission of the space station.
— Brooke Edwards
Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey in under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for allegedly using his dead brother’s credit card.
Melbourne Mayor investigated by FDLE
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement opened an investigation into Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey after his sister-in-law made a criminal complaint against him for allegedly using his dead brother’s credit cards for a cruise to Jamaica, a gym membership and other expenses. The brothers were partners in Alfrey’s Roofing for many years.
The investigation was expanded to the mayor’s alleged use of his sister-in-law’s notary stamp.
The mayor has denied the allegations, saying the credit card was a business card he was authorized to use. He calls the whole thing a bad business divorce. On Sept. 26, Alfrey sued his sister-in-law for fraud and defamation. Two weeks later the mayor was sued for defamation by a Youtuber who confronts public officials regarding allegations of corruption.
What to expect in 2026
Hopefully we’ll get to see the results of the FDLE investigation.
So far, the city council has stayed out of the mayor’s entanglements but that could change as two city council seats will be up for grabs come November.
— John A. Torres
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts off on its inaugural launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday morning, January 16, 2025. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK
Blue Origin’s New Glenn sticks booster landing
On November 13, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket achieved a significant milestone during its second mission from Cape Canaveral. Building on lessons learned from its inaugural flight, the launch was closely watched by industry experts and space enthusiasts alike. The second launch sent NASA’s ESCAPADE mission on its way to study Mars’ magnetosphere.
What truly captured the space industry’s attention, however, was the impressive performance of the rocket’s first stage booster. On only the second attempt, the booster executed a controlled landing on Blue Origin’s recovery vessel, known as Jacklyn. The success of this landing was a major advancement toward Blue Origin’s goal of reusability, a necessity to reduce lost costs and increase flight cadence.
The ship carrying the booster returned to Port Canaveral on Nov. 18 to hundreds of spectators.
What’s next for Blue Origin in 2026?
In the coming year, the Space Coast can expect to see more New Glenn launches — one which is expected to be Blue Origin’s Mark 1 (MK1) uncrewed lunar lander, also known as the Blue Moon Pathfinder mission.
Blue Origin is contracted by NASA for its Mark II crew lander, which will land astronauts on the moon during the Artemis missions. While SpaceX’s Starship held the contract for the Artemis III landing, NASA reopened the contract to find an accelerated approach and meet the 2027 landing date. The upcoming year will not only see more clarity on the timeline and landing of Artemis III, but the crew of Artemis II fly around the moon on a test flight of the Orion spacecraft.
— Brooke Edwards
Mitzie Norman watches raw sewage drift past her home along Turkey Creek in Palm Bay. Untold volumes of raw sewage spilled from a broken sewer pipe near the city’s main sewer plant off Clearmont Street late Sunday. City officials were still trying to stop the spill Monday.
Sewage spill tops environmental stories of 2025
In June, Palm Bay blamed an old pipe failure for a massive sewage spill — likely the worst in the city’s history — that fouled the air and backyard waters for hundreds of homeowners along Turkey Creek with untold volumes of raw sewage.
Furious residents could smell it inside their homes. Fish floated up dead. Many bashed city officials for letting it happen.
A damaged section, a 20-foot-long pipe, was found to have a 2- to 3-inch crack running the full horizontal length, the city said. While the pipe was originally expected to have a lifespan of 80-100 years, it failed after just 37 years.
The sewage spill highlighted how Brevard’s aging infrastructure is harming the Indian River Lagoon, as municipalities struggle to keep up with growth and overtaxed sewage systems.
What’s coming for the lagoon in 2026?
The next big lagoon milestone likely will be in Nov. 3, 2026, if Brevard County Commission decides to put a measure to renew the ½-cent Indian River Lagoon sales tax on the ballot.
Brevard County commissioners voted Nov. 18 to move ahead with the initial steps for a voter referendum next year to renew the ½-cent infrastructure sales tax for the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Program.
The Commission will hold a public hearing on the matter in April or May. But first, it will seek public input at workshops to be held at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 5 at Titusville City Hall and 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12 at Palm Bay City Hall.
The tax raises more than $50 million a year to leverage lagoon cleanups, including dredging out organic muck, converting septic tanks to central sewer systems, improving stormwater infrastructure and other lagoon cleanups.
— Jim Waymer
Just after 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 18th, Jeff Abramowski walked out of the Brevard County Detention Center with his arms around his two children, daughter Jamie LeBlanc and son Jesse. Abramowski’s release from prison with the help of attorney Kevin McCann, was one of the top stories of 2025. The state dropped his conviction, all charges and vacated his life sentence after new DNA was presented in court.
Man released after 23 years in prison
Jeff Abramowski was released from prison after his murder conviction and life sentence were overturned after prosecutors agreed to retest the murder weapons and found new DNA evidence. Abramowski had spent 23 years behind bars.
In the eight months since being released, Abramowski has had to learn to use a smartphone, navigate streaming services on TV and he’s become enamored with Keurig coffee pods. Abramowski also is dealing with some medical issues he carried with him from prison.
Kudos go to local attorney Kevin McCann, who heard Abramowski’s story on the FLORIDA TODAY podcast “Murder on the Space Coast” and believed Abramowski was innocent. McCann, a former federal agent, worked on and off the case for six years before presenting State Attorney Will Scheiner with enough compelling evidence to warrant new DNA testing.
Scheiner agreed to the testing and did not contest dropping the charges. He did, however, stop short of claiming Abramowski was innocent.
Will Abramowski be eligible for compensation
Because Scheiner does not agree with Abramowski’s claims of innocence, McCann will continue trying to secure compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment from the state. An evidentiary hearing was held in late 2025 to determine if Abramowski was eligible for compensation. A written decision by the court should be released very early in the new year.
— John A. Torres
Melissa Calhoun spoke at her family’s home in Central Brevard about how she handled Brevard Public Schools’ decision not to renew her contract over her use of a student’s chosen name.
Brevard teacher gets in trouble for using student’s chosen name
In spring of 2025, a former Brevard Public Schools AP Literature teacher’s contract wasn’t renewed after she used a then-senior’s chosen name without written parental consent, an act in violation of a 2023 Florida Board of Education rule. Melissa Calhoun reached a settlement with the Florida Department of Education in the summer, which included a one-year probation that will begin when she is employed as a teacher again.
However, the district said it would not rehire her despite months of outcry from the public in her support, and Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas, who was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the position in the midst of her settlement, said he believed she deserved a full suspension of her teaching credentials. Since then, another teacher has come under investigation in relation to the same student, who has since graduated.
What to expect in school news in 2026
In 2026, we can expect a decision from the school board regarding whether or not Cape View Elementary School — Cape Canaveral’s only public elementary school — will be closed and consolidated with Roosevelt Elementary School in Cocoa Beach. There will also be school board races for seats in districts 1, 2 and 5.Board Vice Chair Megan Wright and board member Gene Trent are eligible to run for re-election in districts 1 and 2. Board member Katye Campbell cannot run again in District 5 because of a redistricting measure that passed in 2023, which aligned with the county commission’s map and placed her and Jennifer Jenkins, who then served as board member in District 3, out of their districts.
— Finch Walker
2025, reported homicides fall to new lows
The crimes were horrific. A 2-year-old child shot to death in a Melbourne home, a 15-year-old girl fatally wounded by assault rifle rounds while waiting for food and a seemingly random parking lot confrontation between a transient and a man heading to work. But despite the deadly shootings, Brevard County’s homicides fell dramatically in 2025, with the actual the actual number of cases falling by nearly half from previous year highs. Police and prosecutors say the trend mirrors national homicide rates, which decreased following the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
By mid-December, homicides had hit 22 reported cases. Last year in Brevard, a county of 643,000 people, there were 45 reported homicides. In any given year since the pandemic up until now, Brevard saw at least 40 homicides, with motives ranging from robbery and gang violence to domestic abuse, drugs and neglect.
What to expect in crime news in 2026
The retrial of accused murderer Erica Dotson after a mistrial in September 2025, should take place in 2026. Dotson’s first trial ended in a mistrial after it was discovered prosecutors withheld certain information from the defense. Dotson ― along with her boyfriend Joshua Mann ― was arrested and charged with the murder of her three-year-old son in 2021.
Homicide trends will likely continue to follow the national pattern. Whether the reports continue to climb may depend on a number of factors, authorities say. That includes the impact of a souring economy, the continued prevalence of firearms, domestic violence and other issues.
— Jeff Gallop
Ashley Phipps and her 10-month-old daughter Abigail at opening day for Brevard County’s first Trader Joe’s, located at 2221 Town Center Ave. at the Avenue Viera.
Changes in Brevard dining and grocery scene
In addition to over 50 new restaurants that popped up in 2025, Brevard County saw major grocery growth.
With arrival of ALDI beachside, Brevard’s second Sprouts Farmers Market on N. Wickham Road and the long awaited and highly anticipated Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s, residents have more options for fresh and specialty foods.
What to expect in dining scene in 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, the dining scene is set to keep evolving. Permits show Dutch Bros Coffee, Culvers and CAVA are among some popular names coming to the area. Expect new breakfast and lunch joints, a historic 1928 bank transformed into a vibrant venue, a new brewery set to open in Melbourne and a food truck park in Viera.
— Amber Olesen
Port Canaveral became busiest cruise port
Port Canaveral surpassed PortMiami to become the busiest cruise port in the world in 2025 with more than 8.6 million passengers. Brevard County’s port beat Miami previously when the cruise industry was still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s numbers mean big growth for the Port as leaders expect major infrastructure expansion in coming years.
Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, sailed into Port Canaveral early Saturday morning, Aug. 9, officially becoming one of the two largest cruise ships in commercial operation. Star of the Seas matches its Royal Caribbean sister ship, the Miami-based Icon of the Seas, as the world’s largest cruise ship.
What to expect at Port Canaveral in 2026
Around $255 million in capital projects are planned for 2026 with $912 million planned over the next five years. Eighteen cruise ships will call the port home next year, up from 16 this year, and about 9 million passengers are expected to pass through the port, an increase of 400,000.
On top of that, the Port is in talks to add a liquid natural gas processing facility that could improve energy infrastructure not only for LNG-powered cruise ships (a growing industry trend) but the commercial space industry as well.
— Tyler Vazquez
Contact Torres at jtorres@floridatoday.com. You can follow him on X @johnalbertorres
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Top Brevard, Florida trends from 2025 and what’s next in 2026