SpaceX to launch Starship on first orbital test flight Monday

September 28, 2026 at 09:30 AM3 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket on its first orbital test flight Monday from Starbase, Texas. The 75-minute launch window opens at 8:15 a.m. ET, and the mission will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The FAA issued the launch license on Sept. 26.

Key Facts

The FAA issued a license authorization for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Flight 14 launch and reentry operations on Sept. 26.
The 75-minute launch window begins at 8:15 a.m. ET, or 7:15 a.m. local time, from Starbase, Texas.
SpaceX plans to deploy 26 of its new Starlink V3 satellites during the mission.
SpaceX operates around 11,000 active satellites in orbit today, compared to roughly 650 for competitor Eutelsat OneWeb.
SpaceX went public in June in the largest IPO on record and is now valued at about $2 trillion.

Launch Details

SpaceX plans to launch its massive Starship rocket early Monday in an effort to reach orbit with the spacecraft for the first time. According to SpaceX's website, the 75-minute launch window begins at 8:15 a.m. ET, or 7:15 a.m. local time, from the company town of Starbase, Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration told CNBC by email that it issued a license authorization for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Flight 14 launch and reentry operations on Sept. 26. With the 14th test flight of Starship, Elon Musk's aerospace and defense company also plans to deploy 26 of its new Starlink V3 satellites.

Starship and Starlink

Starship is critical to SpaceX's expansion plans, and the company is counting on the giant rocket to scale its Starlink, or Connectivity, business, which was its largest and only profitable segment as of the second quarter. SpaceX operates around 11,000 active satellites in orbit today, compared to roughly 650 for competitor Eutelsat OneWeb. On SpaceX's earnings call in August, Musk said, "It's not out of the question that at some point, Starlink will deliver a majority of the world's internet, at least in countries where we're allowed to operate, which is the vast majority of countries." SpaceX went public in June in the largest IPO on record and is now valued at about $2 trillion.

Future Missions

SpaceX has designed its Starship Super Heavy rocket and booster to be fully reusable, and to lift more cargo for less cost into orbit than any prior spacecraft. None of the 13 earlier test flights have been intended to make it into orbit, but with the 14th flight, SpaceX is hoping Starship will circle the planet. The company is preparing Starship for a major NASA test flight next year, and intends to use the rocket to bring U.S. astronauts back to the moon's surface. SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said during the All-In Summit earlier this month that the company also plans to use Starship to put "supercompute in space," launching "AI compute satellites" into orbit in 2027. The company's new v3 satellites, which are produced at a SpaceX facility in Redmond, Washington, are equipped with solar arrays that generate twice as much power as prior generations.