SpaceX Starship Orbital Test Set for Sept. 22

SpaceX is targeting September 22, 2026, for Starship Flight 14, its first orbital test. The mission plans to place the Starship upper stage, known as the Ship, at about 275 kilometers altitude for roughly six Earth orbits and deploy 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites. The company frames this flight as the start of Starship’s orbital phase.

Launch Date and Window

SpaceX describes the target launch date as “no earlier than” September 22 and says the flight is pending regulatory approval. The FAA Current Operations Plan Advisory lists a primary airspace window on that date from 12:15 to 14:14 UTC (07:15 to 09:14 Central Time), with September 23 as a backup. Multiple reports cite a 75-minute launch window opening at 07:15 Central Time from Starbase in Cameron County, Texas. Local authorities have planned temporary closures of Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach to enforce safety perimeters.

Mission Profile and Reuse

The mission aims to place the Ship into orbit at about 275 kilometers altitude, completing roughly six orbits over nearly 10 hours before deorbiting and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. Flight 14 will test Super Heavy booster launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback, and splashdown procedures to advance a fully reusable orbital system. The booster is scheduled to perform a landing burn and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX has made hardware and software modifications to Super Heavy since Flight 13 on July 24, 2026, when several Raptor engines failed to relight and the booster experienced a hard splashdown.

Payload and Program Outlook

Flight 14 will deploy 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites, marking the first operational batch of the larger, higher-capacity V3 generation. SpaceX describes these satellites as designed to dramatically expand network throughput and reliability, with some V3 models offering roughly one terabit per second of downlink capacity. Three satellites on this mission carry cameras to image the Ship’s heat shield after deployment, providing data for future design improvements.

Flight 13 previously launched 20 V3 satellites on a suborbital trajectory as an operational test; those units reentered within about 20 minutes and were not intended to remain in orbit. SpaceX frames Flight 14 as the beginning of an orbital phase that will enable routine payload delivery and support planned long-duration and in-space propellant-transfer tests tied to NASA’s Human Landing System program. The company states, “Starship is preparing to move into an exciting new phase: orbital flight.”