The launch date for SpaceX's Starship Flight 14 is targetted for No Earlier Than (NET) Tuesday, September 22, 2026.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established a primary two-hour launch window from 07:15 AM to 09:14 AM local Texas time (CDT), with a backup launch date designated for September 23, 2026.

Flight 14 Key Details

• Launch Location: SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas (Orbital Launch Pad 2).

• Primary Mission: This is set to be Starship's first full orbital altitude flight test, carrying a payload of roughly 20 next-generation Version 3 Starlink satellites into orbit.

• Recovery Strategy: Unlike previous speculation, Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX will not attempt to catch the upper stage ship with the launch tower's "chopstick" arms on this flight due to high risks. The booster stage will attempt a water landing, and the ship will perform a controlled reentry and splashdown near Hawaii. Tower catch attempts for the ship are now deferred to Flight 15.

According to my (often dodgy) calculations that's 01:15 PM BST.

So we brits will be awake and munching our lunchtime snacks.

SIX orbits. 10 hours in space!

A spacecraft the size of a 15 storey building orbiting six times. 😮

Flight Plan and Mission Profile

• Launch Window: Targeting September 28, 2026, with a 75-minute window opening at 7:15 a.m. CT (8:15 a.m. ET) from Starbase, Texas.

• Ascent & Separation: Liftoff powered by 33 Super Heavy Raptor engines, followed by hot-staging separation.

• Booster Recovery: Super Heavy booster splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico approximately seven minutes after liftoff (no tower catch attempted for the booster or ship on this flight).

• Orbital Insertion: Starship upper stage enters an initial orbit at an altitude of roughly 275 kilometers (171 miles) after verifying critical hardware redundancy.

• Payload Deployment: First operational deployment of up to 26 Starlink V3 satellites designed for direct-to-cell and high-capacity global coverage.

• Duration & Landing: Completes approximately six orbits over nearly 10 hours, concluding with a single-engine Raptor deorbit burn and a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by martin-w