SpaceX has pushed back Flight 14 of Starship — the first attempt to put the mega-rocket into actual orbit — from September 22 to September 28, according to Space.com. The company has not given a public reason for the slip.
This is the mission SpaceX fans have been waiting for. After 13 test flights since April 2023, Flight 14 is designed to finally complete full orbits: a roughly 10-hour mission climbing to about 275 km altitude, completing six trips around Earth before splashing down in the Pacific west of Chile.
What’s flying
- First operational payload: 26 Starlink V3 satellites — Starship’s first real cargo
- Super Heavy booster: aiming for a Gulf of Mexico splashdown about 7 minutes after liftoff
- No tower catch planned for either vehicle on this flight
- The full stack stands 408 feet tall — still the largest rocket ever flown
The new target is September 28, with a launch window opening at 8:15 AM ET from Starbase, Texas, TechCrunch notes.
A note of caution
Starship dates slip — often. The September 28 target is still subject to technical readiness and regulatory clearance, and it could move again. But every delay so far has been followed by a bigger leap, and a successful orbital flight with a real payload would mark the moment Starship graduates from test program to working launch system.
