SpaceX Targets First Orbital Launch of Starship on September 22

SpaceX announced that, subject to regulatory approval, it will launch its 14th Starship mission as early as September 22 from Brownsville, Texas. The flight will mark the first time the experimental vehicle is sent into orbit. The launch is scheduled for 7:15 am local time, just two minutes before sunrise, and will use a 75‑minute window. The super‑heavy booster will carry 26 of the larger V3 Starlink satellites into a 275‑km orbit. After release, the Starship upper stage is expected to complete six orbits before concluding its mission after roughly ten hours. The launch will test Starship’s orbital performance and its ability to deploy a large constellation of satellites.