Tag: Super Heavy
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SpaceX Rolls Super Heavy to Launch Pad for Starship’s First Orbital Flight
SpaceX moved the Super Heavy booster assigned to Starship Flight 14 to the launch pad at Starbase, Texas, on September 21, advancing preparations for the vehicle’s first orbital mission. Targeted for September 28 pending regulatory approval, the flight is expected to complete six Earth orbits and deploy 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites. The booster, identified…
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Starship Flight 14 Targets First Earth Orbit and 26 Starlink V3 Deployments
SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, September 22, 2026, for Starship’s 14th flight test from Starbase in South Texas. The mission would be Starship’s first attempt to enter Earth orbit and is planned to deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites. A 75-minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. Central time, pending regulatory approval. Previous Starship tests followed suborbital…
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SpaceX Sets Sept. 22 for Starship’s First Orbital Flight and Starlink V3 Deployment
SpaceX is targeting Sept. 22, 2026, for the first orbital flight of its Starship launch system, a roughly 10-hour mission that will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites and send the spacecraft around Earth six times before a planned Pacific Ocean splashdown. Flight 14 is scheduled to lift off from Starbase in South Texas during a…
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SpaceX Pairs Booster 22 and Ship 42 for Flight 15 Cryogenic Testing
SpaceX has moved Super Heavy Booster 22 from Mega Bay 1 to the Massey’s test site at Starbase, where Ship 42 has joined it for cryogenic proof testing ahead of their planned pairing on Starship Flight 15. The mission could launch roughly one month after Flight 14 if the preceding flight meets its objectives and…
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SpaceX Expands Starbase as Flight 14 Vehicles Complete Testing
SpaceX is expanding assembly, testing and launch infrastructure across Starbase, Texas, as Ship 41 and Booster 21 move through final checkout for Starship Flight 14. Recent aerial imagery shows simultaneous work at Massey’s test site, the Gigabay assembly building and both orbital launch pads, while hardware for Flight 15 and later vehicles is already entering…
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SpaceX Clears Florida Launch Capacity for Starship by Moving Falcon 9 Starlink Missions West
SpaceX has consolidated its remaining Falcon 9 Starlink launches at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, ending the constellation’s Falcon 9 campaign from Florida as it prepares the Space Coast for Starship-Super Heavy operations. The operational shift removes a large volume of routine Starlink missions from SpaceX’s Florida schedule, freeing launch infrastructure, personnel and range…
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SpaceX Completes 33-Engine Static Fire of Booster 21 Ahead of Starship Flight 14
SpaceX fired all 33 Raptor engines on Super Heavy Booster 21 during a full-duration static-fire test at Starbase, Texas, on August 28, completing a major propulsion milestone ahead of Starship’s 14th flight test. The roughly 15-second firing took place on the launch mount at Pad 2. Booster 21 remained restrained while its engines, propellant systems,…
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SpaceX Recovers First Intact Starship Upper Stage After Month-Long Indian Ocean Ordeal
SpaceX has achieved a major milestone in the development of its fully reusable Starship system, successfully loading the upper stage from Starship Flight 13 onto a semi-submersible transport vessel in the Indian Ocean more than a month after the spacecraft completed its mission and splashed down at sea. The recovery marks the first time a…
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SpaceX eyes tower catch for next Starship after auspicious end to 13th flight
SpaceX was more than lucky Friday, sending its 13th full-scale Starship test flight halfway around the world from South Texas to an on-target, intact splashdown in a remote section of the Indian Ocean. Starship has made precise splashdowns before. This time, however, the ship gently tipped over and came to rest floating in a remote…
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Starship Flight 13 Carries 20 Starlink V3 Sats July 16
Does Starship Flight 13 Carry Its First Real Payload? Yes — and it matters. SpaceX has confirmed Starship Flight 13 is targeting liftoff from Starbase, Texas, as early as Thursday, July 16, carrying 20 Starlink V3 satellites: the vehicle’s first operational payload in 13 flights of developmental testing. For the first time, the world’s most…