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SpaceX targets Starship’s first orbital payload delivery as NASA’s Crew-13 heads to the ISS

SpaceX’s 14th Starship test flight is set to make the vehicle’s first trip around Earth and deliver its first operational payload during a busy launch week. NASA and SpaceX are also preparing Crew-13, a four-person Dragon mission targeting an unusually fast, roughly eight-hour trip to the International Space Station.

Discovered 2026-09-30T06:56:17.121735-07:00 | 2026-09-30T06:56:17.121735-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Starship’s planned first orbital mission with an operational payload marks a significant transition from test flights toward demonstrated service capability.
Crew-13 will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40, with a planned transit of about eight hours—potentially one of the fastest U.S. trips to the station.
The week’s launch cadence, including Starship, Crew-13 and a classified Falcon Heavy mission, underscores the breadth of SpaceX’s responsibilities across commercial and government spaceflight.

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