FAA Licenses SpaceX Starship Flight 14 to Deploy 26 Satellites in First Orbital Attempt
Updated
Updated · Aviation Week · Sep 27
FAA Licenses SpaceX Starship Flight 14 to Deploy 26 Satellites in First Orbital Attempt
3 articles · Updated · Aviation Week · Sep 27
Summary
Sept. 28 is now the target for Starship Flight 14 after the FAA cleared launch and reentry operations for SpaceX’s first attempt to put the Starship-Super Heavy system into orbit.
26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites are slated for deployment about 10 minutes after orbital insertion, if controllers judge the vehicle healthy during an initial coast on a passively safe suborbital path.
19 seconds is the planned circularization burn, beginning 25 minutes after liftoff; Starship would then complete six orbits at roughly 171 miles altitude before an 11-second deorbit burn nearly nine hours later.
Flight 14 still ends with ocean splashdowns for both stages, after Flight 13’s soft Indian Ocean impact led SpaceX to defer a launch-tower catch attempt to Flight 15.
2028 is the current target for Artemis’ first crewed lunar mission, making this test closely watched by NASA, which is relying on SpaceX to develop a Moon lander.