SpaceX is targeting Starship Flight 14 for the programme’s first orbital launch attempt from Starbase in South Texas on 28 September, with 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites on board if the mission gets the final go-ahead. The flight is planned as a nearly 10-hour mission with a controlled splashdown attempt in the Pacific after about six orbits.
The launch window opens at 08:15 EDT, and the vehicle has been prepared at Pad 2 ahead of liftoff. Regulatory clearance from the FAA was still pending in the most recent reporting, making the flight a forecast rather than a completed event. If successful, the mission would move Starship beyond its earlier suborbital test profile and into orbital operations for the first time.
SpaceX’s current plan places Flight 14 at the centre of both its launch ambitions and Starlink expansion strategy. The payload of 26 Starlink V3 satellites would be the first operational deployment of that satellite generation from Starship, supporting the company’s broader effort to increase constellation capacity and eventually use the system for more demanding deep-space and crewed missions.