SpaceX is targeting Sept. 28 for the first orbital launch attempt of its 124-meter (407-foot) Starship-Super Heavy rocket, carrying the first Starlink V3 satellites. The milestone comes 18 years after SpaceX’s Falcon 1 reached orbit for the first time.
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SpaceX is targeting Sept. 28 for the first orbital launch attempt of its 124-meter (407-foot) Starship-Super Heavy rocket, carrying the first Starlink V3 satellites. The milestone comes 18 years after SpaceX’s Falcon 1 reached orbit for the first time.
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After more than a decade of development and 13 test flights, SpaceX plans to launch Starship on its first orbital mission from Texas on Sept. 28, pending regulatory approval. The 75-minute window targets six Earth orbits, deployment of 26 Starlink V3 satellites and a Pacific Ocean landing.
The European Union commissioner responsible for space is taking a more active role in launch policy, urging European companies to increase launch activity. The push signals greater EU attention to launch cadence and the continent’s ability to sustain independent access to space.
Rocket Lab launched another Electron mission for Japanese radar-imaging company Synspective on Sept. 25, deploying the 13th satellite in the company’s constellation. The flight extends a sustained launch relationship supporting Synspective’s expansion of space-based Earth observation capabilities.
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SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 14 on Sept. 28 in the vehicle’s first attempt to reach orbit. The mission would mark a major transition from previous suborbital testing, while the company also conducts a classified U.S. Space Force launch from California earlier in the week.
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Starship’s first intended orbital mission, Flight 14, is awaiting regulatory approval while a near-term manifest indicates the next two flights could follow in close succession. The sequence would provide an early view of the program’s planned operational tempo and development cadence.
Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch Strix, a radar-imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective, on the “Owlright, Owlright, Owlright” mission on Sept. 25. The flight will support Synspective’s imaging constellation and marks another commercial deployment serving Japan’s growing space-data market.
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