SpaceX Targets September 22 for Starship Flight 14 and First Orbital Attempt

Pending regulatory approval, SpaceX plans to launch its 14th Starship mission as early as September 22. The flight would mark the first time the company has attempted to send the experimental spacecraft into orbit.

SpaceX is targeting 7:15 a.m. Texas local time, or 12:15 UTC, with a 75-minute launch window. Sunrise in Brownsville, Texas, is scheduled for 7:17 a.m. Central Time, potentially creating favorable conditions for dramatic launch images.

The super-heavy-lift rocket is expected to carry 26 large V3 Starlink satellites into an orbit 275 kilometers above Earth. According to SpaceX’s updated mission website, the Starship upper stage will attempt to complete six orbits before ending its mission roughly 10 hours after liftoff.

Starship’s first planned orbital mission

Reaching orbit would represent a major milestone in SpaceX’s Starship development campaign. The company conducted Starship’s first test flight on April 20, 2023, and has advanced the vehicle through a series of successes and setbacks.

SpaceX continues to modify both stages of the vehicle, with plans for a third upgrade to the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage. Following recent progress, the company appears to be moving closer to its goal of developing a fully reusable super-heavy-lift rocket.

SpaceX addresses Super Heavy booster problems

Starship’s most recent test flight, conducted on July 24, saw the first stage perform nominally during ascent. However, a problem developed after the booster completed its boostback burn and began returning through Earth’s atmosphere.

“During the final stages of burn, the three central engines showed signs of ice jamming, which triggered an early termination of the maneuver,” SpaceX said in an update Tuesday.

“The booster continued to attempt a landing burn and reignited eight of the 13 planned engines before making a hard splashdown in the Gulf. The Super Heavy on this flight had hardware changes to improve filtering to the engines and software changes to make reignition more reliable.”

What to expect from Starship Flight 14

If regulatory approval is granted and the launch proceeds as planned, Starship Flight 14 will test the vehicle’s ability to reach orbit while deploying V3 Starlink satellites. The mission will also provide another critical test of the Super Heavy booster’s return and landing systems.