Overview
- SpaceX announced on Sept. 15 that it is targeting Tuesday, Sept. 22 for Integrated Flight Test‑14 with a 75‑minute window opening at 7:15 a.m. CT for the first attempt to place Starship into orbit.
- The mission profile calls for the Starship upper stage to complete about six orbits at roughly 275 km, deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, then perform a deorbit burn and splash down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile about ten hours after launch.
- SpaceX will not try to 'catch' either the Ship upper stage or the Super Heavy booster with the launch tower on this flight and expects the booster to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico roughly seven minutes after liftoff.
- The company says it has implemented hardware and software fixes to address earlier engine ice and relight problems and has altered Ship’s heat shield based on inspection data from the July flight recovery.
- The launch remains subject to FAA and FCC approvals plus weather and vehicle readiness checks, and a successful orbital insertion would accelerate SpaceX’s plan to make Starship its primary, revenue-generating launcher and expand Starlink capacity.