SpaceX Starship Targets First Orbital Flight on September 28 in Major Test Mission
SpaceX is preparing for a major milestone in its Starship program as the company targets September 28 for the first attempt to send its giant Starship megarocket into orbit.
The launch, designated Starship Flight 14, is scheduled to take place from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The 75-minute launch window is set to open at 8:15 a.m. EDT (12:15 p.m. UTC), or 7:15 a.m. local Texas time. The schedule remains subject to final launch conditions and operational readiness.
For viewers in Cambodia, the planned opening of the launch window corresponds to approximately 7:15 p.m. on September 28.
Starship prepares for its first orbital attempt
The upcoming mission represents a significant change from Starship’s previous flight tests. Since the program’s debut in April 2023, Starship has completed 13 test flights, but those missions remained suborbital.
Flight 14 is designed to take the spacecraft into low Earth orbit for the first time. SpaceX plans to use the mission to demonstrate the capabilities of the latest Starship vehicle while also deploying a group of next-generation Starlink satellites.
Starship consists of two stages: the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper stage. When fully stacked, the vehicle stands about 407 feet (124 meters) tall, making it one of the largest and most powerful rockets ever constructed. Both stages are intended to eventually become rapidly reusable.
SpaceX has previously described full reusability as a key part of its long-term Starship strategy because it could substantially change the economics and frequency of large-scale spaceflight.
What will happen during Starship Flight 14?
The Flight 14 mission has a substantially more ambitious profile than earlier Starship tests.
According to the current mission plan, the Ship upper stage will travel into Earth orbit and deploy 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites. These satellites are intended to become part of SpaceX’s next-generation Starlink network.
After deployment, the Ship is expected to remain in orbit for several passes around Earth before beginning its return. Space.com reports that the spacecraft is planned to complete approximately six orbits and ultimately splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile roughly 10 hours after liftoff.
The Super Heavy booster, meanwhile, will have a much shorter mission. It is expected to separate from the Ship and attempt a controlled descent toward a splashdown area in the Gulf of Mexico approximately seven minutes after launch.
The mission therefore combines several important objectives: reaching orbit, deploying satellites, operating the spacecraft for an extended period and demonstrating controlled returns for both stages.
Why the orbital milestone matters
Getting Starship into orbit would represent an important step in SpaceX’s development of its next-generation launch system.
The company is developing Starship as a fully reusable vehicle capable of carrying large payloads and eventually people beyond Earth orbit. Its long-term ambitions include supporting missions to the Moon and Mars.
However, SpaceX still has substantial technical milestones to complete before Starship can routinely perform those missions.
Among the major challenges is in-space propellant transfer. Future deep-space Starship missions will require spacecraft to rendezvous with tanker versions of Starship and transfer propellant while in orbit. SpaceX has not yet demonstrated that capability operationally, making it one of the important technologies that will have to be proven before ambitious crewed lunar and Mars missions become practical.
Starship also needs to demonstrate increasingly reliable atmospheric reentry, landing and recovery operations.
NASA is also watching Starship’s progress
Starship’s development has implications beyond SpaceX’s commercial launch business.
NASA has selected a version of Starship to serve as the lunar lander for the agency’s Artemis program. The spacecraft is expected to play a role in future missions designed to return astronauts to the Moon.
NASA’s current Artemis architecture calls for a Starship-based lunar lander to support the planned Artemis IV mission, which is targeted for 2028. Before such a mission can take place, however, SpaceX must demonstrate the technologies needed for crewed lunar operations.
That makes the upcoming orbital test particularly significant. Reaching orbit would not mean Starship is ready for astronauts, but it would demonstrate another major capability on the road toward that goal.
How to watch the Starship launch
SpaceX is expected to provide live coverage of the launch, with coverage beginning approximately 30 minutes before the scheduled liftoff window.
The launch window is currently scheduled to open at 8:15 a.m. EDT (12:15 UTC) on September 28 from Starbase in South Texas. Because rocket launches can be delayed or scrubbed for technical, regulatory or weather-related reasons, viewers should check SpaceX’s latest announcement before the countdown.
For viewers in Cambodia, the planned window begins at approximately 7:15 p.m. local time.
The mission is being closely watched because it marks the first planned attempt for Starship to complete an orbital flight. Previous Starship missions have provided increasingly important test data, but Flight 14 is designed to push the vehicle beyond those earlier suborbital profiles.
If successful, the mission would establish a new stage in Starship’s development. If problems occur, SpaceX would gain additional flight-test data that could be used to modify the vehicle and prepare for subsequent missions.
Either way, the September 28 flight is expected to be one of the most closely watched Starship tests to date.
