SpaceX Targets First Orbital Starship Flight to Deploy 26 Next‑Gen Starlink V3 Satellites

SpaceX is attempting the first orbital flight of its Starship system on September 28, with Flight 14 carrying 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites . The Federal Aviation Administration issued launch and reentry authorization on September 26, and a 75-minute window opens at 8:15 a.m. ET from Starbase, Texas. None of the 13 earlier Starship test flights was intended to reach orbit .

The mission profile is the most demanding yet. The Super Heavy booster is set to separate about two minutes after liftoff and aim for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico , while the Ship is planned to orbit Earth six times over about 10 hours, deploy the satellites, and reenter . SpaceX completed a full countdown rehearsal without lifting off before draining propellant, clearing the last major ground test .

The stakes are commercial as much as technical for SPCX, which went public in June in the largest IPO on record and is valued at roughly $2 trillion . Starlink is the company's largest and only profitable segment as of the second quarter, and SpaceX already operates about 11,000 active satellites against about 650 for Eutelsat OneWeb. Starship's reusability is what is meant to make deploying heavier V3 satellites cheaper, and it is also the vehicle for NASA's planned return of astronauts to the Moon. Watch for booster recovery, satellite deployment confirmation and a controlled reentry; any anomaly would shift the timeline for further Starlink V3 launches and the NASA test flight planned for next year.