SpaceX Starship Flight 14 Will Attempt First Trip to Orbit on Sept. 28

September 28, 2026:

SpaceX Starship Flight 14 Will Attempt First Trip to Orbit on Sept. 28

SpaceX is setting its eyes for another major test of its Starship rocket. The company is scheduled to launch Starship Flight 14 on Monday, September 28.

The launch is planned at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The 75-minute launch window is expected to open at 8:15 a.m. EDT or 7:15 a.m. local time.

SpaceX is also expected to begin its live coverage about 30 minutes before liftoff.

Starship Is the World’s Largest Rocket

Starship Flight 14 Targets First Orbit: Starlink V3 Satellites Falcon 9 Cannot Carry — The SpaceX Starship spacecraft lifts off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, on March 14, 2024. SpaceX on Thursday carried out the third test launch of Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Starship stands about 407 feet (124 meters) tall when fully assembled. It is made up of two stages.

According to Space.com, the first is the Super Heavy booster. The second is the Ship upper stage.

Both stages are designed to be reusable. SpaceX aims to launch, recover, and fly the hardware again. The company hopes this approach can eventually reduce the cost and complexity of spaceflight.

Starship is still being tested, however. Its first flight took place in April 2023. Since then, the vehicle has completed 13 suborbital test flights.

Flight 14 will be the program’s 14th test.

Flight 14 Could Reach Earth Orbit

One of the biggest goals of Flight 14 is to send the Ship’s upper stage into Earth orbit.

The Ship is about 171 feet (52 meters) tall. During the mission, it is expected to deploy 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites.

The satellites are intended for SpaceX’s next-generation Starlink network. Elon Musk has previously discussed a future constellation that could eventually include as many as 100,000 spacecraft.

SpaceX already operates thousands of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit.

After releasing the satellites, Ship is expected to make six trips around Earth. It would then reenter and splash down in the Pacific Ocean near Chile.

The mission could last close to 10 hours. That would be significantly longer than previous Starship flights, which lasted no more than about 65 minutes.

Watch the live coverage in seven hours through here.

Super Heavy Will Return Much Sooner

The Super Heavy booster will have a much shorter mission.

SpaceX expects the booster to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico roughly seven minutes after liftoff.

The company has already demonstrated three successful catches of the Super Heavy booster using the large mechanical arms attached to the launch tower.

The Ship has not yet achieved a similar tower catch.

Starship Still Needs More Testing

A successful orbital flight would be an important test. It would not mean Starship is immediately ready for routine crewed missions.

Long-duration missions to the Moon and beyond will require the spacecraft to refuel while in orbit. SpaceX plans to use tanker versions of Starship for that task.

However, the company has not yet demonstrated propellant transfer between spacecraft in orbit.

Starship will also need a functioning life-support system before it can carry astronauts.

NASA has selected Starship as the first crewed lunar lander for its Artemis program. The agency plans to use the vehicle during a future crewed mission to the Moon.

Tech Times reported that SpaceX successfully launched the USSF-386 mission on Saturday, Sept.26.

Source link

tags

Abkhazia Afghanistan Africa Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Northern Cyprus Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Transnistria Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda UK Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe