SpaceX Launches Starship on First Full-Orbit Test

Overview

• The 14th Starship flight launched on Monday, September 28, as an unmanned, nearly 10-hour mission designed to reach a roughly 275 km circular orbit and complete about six circuits of Earth.
• The Federal Aviation Administration cleared the flight after completing an investigation of an earlier Starship accident, allowing SpaceX to resume higher-risk orbital testing.
• About seven minutes after liftoff the Super Heavy booster separated and was not scheduled for recovery on this mission, with SpaceX forecasting a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The upper stage carried 26 new Starlink V3 satellites that SpaceX says each have up to 1 terabit per second capacity, linking vehicle testing directly to commercial expansion of its internet constellation.
• If orbital insertion succeeds, SpaceX plans to move into a phase of on-orbit refueling trials and further reuse development, a step that could speed future Moon and Mars mission plans and reshape satellite internet capacity.