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SpaceX to Fly Starship Flight 14 September 22

By Drooid · Sep 16, 2026, 2:20 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

SpaceX attempts orbital Starship

SpaceX will attempt to place Starship’s upper stage into orbit on September 22.
The launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. Central Time for 75 minutes from Starbase, Texas.
Starship will reach ~275 km, complete six orbits, and deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
Flight 14 will test orbital insertion, an in-space Raptor restart, controlled reentry, and will not attempt a tower catch.

Summary

SpaceX flies B1097

Booster B1097 will make its 13th flight, targeting a 224th landing on ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ droneship.
Residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties could hear up to ten-minute sonic booms after liftoff.
The launch will be visible across California and much of the West Coast, attracting many on-site spectators.

History

Historical Context

Apollo 11’s historic Moon landing on 20 July 1969 demonstrated the United States’ ability to launch, orbit, and safely return a massive spacecraft. NASA’s Saturn V rocket, costing $6.4 billion in 1960s dollars, lifted a 2,800-kilogram command module and a 4,700-kilogram lunar module. Today SpaceX’s Starship program, led by Elon Musk at Starbase, Texas, echoes Apollo’s ambition by attempting orbital insertion and re-entry with reusable stages. If Starship’s Flight 14 succeeds, the precedent of fully reusable launch systems could slash launch costs, reshaping satellite deployment and deep-space missions.

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SpaceX attempts orbital Starship

SpaceX will attempt to place Starship’s upper stage into orbit on September 22.
The launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. Central Time for 75 minutes from Starbase, Texas.
Starship will reach ~275 km, complete six orbits, and deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
Flight 14 will test orbital insertion, an in-space Raptor restart, controlled reentry, and will not attempt a tower catch.

1 / 3