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Starship’s successful launch to low Earth orbit is a big deal
Confirmed
In Short: SpaceX is set to launch the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket, with the goal of placing the upper stage into Earth's orbit for the first time.
SpaceX is set to launch the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket, with the goal of placing the upper stage into Earth's orbit for the first time. The rocket, designated Ship 41 or S41, began its journey from the production site around 7:45 p.m. and was carefully placed atop the Super Heavy booster B21.
The launch, which could occur as soon as Monday, September 22, is subject to FAA approval. SpaceX has made several modifications to the booster’s hardware and software to address issues seen in previous flights.
During the test launch, SpaceX plans to deploy the first batch of third-generation Starlinks into its network of 10,000 internet satellites. The company expects to launch 26 V3 satellites into orbit, marking a significant step towards retiring its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
Founder and CEO Elon Musk has stated that once Starship is flying reliably several times per week, the company will save scarce engineering and production resources.
The test flight is scheduled for September 22, with a 75-minute launch window opening at 7:15 a.m. This will be the second Starship test launch since SpaceX became a publicly traded company in the largest IPO in history in June.
SpaceX has spent billions of dollars on the Starship program and is now looking to retire its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets in favor of Starship. The company is under pressure to get Starship ready for a crucial NASA test flight next year that could pave the way for the next moon landing.
The test flight will only test the first part of the equation, but getting Starship’s upper stage into orbit would represent a major milestone for SpaceX.
During the first flight of a Starship V3 rocket in May, a series of engine outages caused the rocket to underperform. Last week’s aborted launch attempt sparked a selloff, and shares are still trading below their IPO price.
SpaceX completed a test flight of its Starship megarocket, following an aborted launch attempt last week in which several engines failed to ignite at liftoff. The Super Heavy rocket booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf.
Today’s flight marked a much better showing for Starship V3 than its first go in May, deploying advanced Starlink satellites for the first time and providing priceless data as it traveled through air, space, and sea.
What's confirmed
- SpaceX is set to launch the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket, with the goal of placing the upper stage into Earth's orbit for the first time. The rocket, designated Ship 41 or S41, began its journey from the production site around 7:45 p.m. and was carefully placed atop the Super Heavy booster B21.
- The launch, which could occur as soon as Monday, September 22, is subject to FAA approval. SpaceX has made several modifications to the booster’s hardware and software to address issues seen in previous flights.
- During the test launch, SpaceX plans to deploy the first batch of third-generation Starlinks into its network of 10,000 internet satellites. The company expects to launch 26 V3 satellites into orbit, marking a significant step towards retiring its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
- Founder and CEO Elon Musk has stated that once Starship is flying reliably several times per week, the company will save scarce engineering and production resources.
- The test flight is scheduled for September 22, with a 75-minute launch window opening at 7:15 a.m. This will be the second Starship test launch since SpaceX became a publicly traded company in the largest IPO in history in June.
- SpaceX has spent billions of dollars on the Starship program and is now looking to retire its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets in favor of Starship. The company is under pressure to get Starship ready for a crucial NASA test flight next year that could pave the way for the next moon landing.
- The test flight will only test the first part of the equation, but getting Starship’s upper stage into orbit would represent a major milestone for SpaceX.
- During the first flight of a Starship V3 rocket in May, a series of engine outages caused the rocket to underperform. Last week’s aborted launch attempt sparked a selloff, and shares are still trading below their IPO price.
- SpaceX completed a test flight of its Starship megarocket, following an aborted launch attempt last week in which several engines failed to ignite at liftoff. The Super Heavy rocket booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf.
- Today’s flight marked a much better showing for Starship V3 than its first go in May, deploying advanced Starlink satellites for the first time and providing priceless data as it traveled through air, space, and sea.
What's still developing
- SpaceX assembled a Starship-Super Heavy rocket on the launch pad at Starbase in south Texas early Wednesday as it awaited approval for the vehicle’s first orbital flight.
- Disrupt 2026: OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, and more take over 6 industry stages. 25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt SpaceX is ready to perform the 14th test flight of its Starship mega-rocket, and now the company will finally try to put the upper stage into Earth’s orbit for the first time, the company announced Tuesday.
- If successful, this will be the first Starship launch to generate revenue for SpaceX’s launch division (even if that revenue is coming from another division of the company).
- SpaceX said Tuesday that it has made additional changes to the Starship heat shield based on what it learned from studying the recovered upper stage from Flight 13.
- The first came in July, when SpaceX successfully deployed V3 Starlink satellites for the first time — though those were only meant to test Starship’s deployment capability and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere after roughly 20 minutes.
- Overall, today’s flight showed that Starship V3 might be a winning design for SpaceX.
- It also needs to figure out how it can be topped off with fuel while sitting in space, a step that will be required if Starship is going to land astronauts on the moon, as is the company’s plan.
- (As a reminder: SpaceX debuted this latest upgraded version of Starship earlier this year, following a tense period of mixed success with Starship V2 in 2025.) During Starship V3’s inaugural test, there were numerous engine issues as several on the booster failed to relight and the Starship spacecraft experienced a nail-biting engine outage.