Date set for first Starship orbital test

SpaceX is preparing to move to a new phase in its Starship program. The company has announced that it is targeting September 28 for the 14th Starship flight test. Unlike previous attempts, the planned launch aims to reach Earth's orbit for the first time.

A 75-minute window is anticipated for the launch, beginning at 08:15 Eastern Time. However, it is noted that the regulatory approval process required to finalize the mission schedule has not yet been completed. SpaceX had previously targeted September 22, but later updated the date to September 28 in a statement via X.

Starship tests conducted to date have been suborbital flights that did not aim for full orbital insertion. Therefore, this new mission is seen as a critical test for evaluating both Starship's ability to operate in space for longer durations and its future reusability plans.

MISSION TO CARRY 26 STARLINK V3 SATELLITES

In the planned flight profile, the upper stage of Starship is expected to reach an altitude of approximately 275 kilometers. The vehicle is planned to complete six orbits around the Earth during the mission, which is expected to last about 10 hours. This duration means Starship will operate in the space environment for much longer than in its previous tests.

The mission's notable payload will be 26 Starlink V3 satellites. While V3 satellites were carried in a previous Starship test, those payloads were used to demonstrate the capability to transport the new generation of satellites. The satellites on this new flight are intended to be directly integrated into the Starlink service.

The Starlink V3 platform is expected to offer higher data capacity compared to the current V2 generation. According to shared technical specifications, V3 satellites can support a download capacity of 1 Tbps. On the upload side, it is projected to reach 160 Gbps. These figures represent a 10-fold increase in download and a 22-fold increase in upload compared to V2 satellites.

SpaceX will not attempt to catch Starship with the launch tower arms on this mission. The Super Heavy booster is planned to land in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after launch, while the upper stage is planned to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile after completing its orbital mission. Thus, the main focus of the test will be orbital flight and payload operations rather than tower recovery.