SpaceX completed Starship’s wet dress rehearsal Sept. 24, fueling the rocket and running through launch steps without engine ignition. Flight 14 is set for Sept. 28 and is intended to be Starship’s first orbital test, with Ship set to deploy 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites.
The launch is scheduled from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas during a 75-minute window opening at 8:15 a.m. EDT (7:15 a.m. local time). If the mission goes to plan, Ship will circle Earth six times before splashing down in the Pacific off Chile; Super Heavy is due to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after launch.
The first 13 Starship flights sent Ship on suborbital trajectories. SpaceX ultimately wants both Ship and Super Heavy caught at the launch pad by the tower’s “chopstick” arms; it has caught Super Heavy this way on three prior flights but has not tried it with Ship.
