SpaceX is about to try something nobody has done with Starship yet: put the 400-foot rocket into orbit, let it circle the planet six times, and bring it back for a splashdown. The company plans to launch from its private pad in Starbase, Texas, as early as 8:15 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 28, and the whole flight could last ten hours.
This launch is Starship’s 14th flight, and it represents a real departure from earlier tests. Those earlier flights followed a simple path straight up and straight down, with gravity pulling the ship back to the ground much like a ball thrown into the air. To reach an orbit, Starship must now move sideways at 17,500 mph — continually falling toward the ground while the curve of Earth moves away from it at the same rate.
The Long Road to Orbit
More than 40 months of test flights have brought SpaceX to this point. Earlier missions took a passive approach, flying suborbital paths that kept public safety foremost while still yielding valuable lessons, per the company’s account. Now, by reaching orbit, the company says the next phase of making Starship fully and rapidly reusable can get underway.
The rocket carries heavy cargo, survives a scorching plunge back to Earth, and supports NASA’s Artemis moon missions. Musk’s personal goal is to use the rocket and ship to send people to Mars.
If all systems check out well, the vehicle will ignite its engines once more to reach orbit. Should anything look amiss, controllers can choose to bypass that firing and allow the craft to arc back toward Earth, landing in the Indian Ocean instead.
What SpaceX Will Watch During the Flight
While Starship circles the world at an altitude of 170 miles, below the orbit of the International Space Station, which sits about 250 miles above Earth, the team will keep watch over thousands of pieces of data from the engines, computers, navigation, fuel tanks, communications, and other systems.
SpaceX is trying a new method for deploying satellites on this flight. During its previous mission in July, Starship carried 20 actual satellites that came down and were destroyed in the air. Now the company aims to place 26 Starlink V3 internet satellites into service, releasing them while the ship is still flying. Assuming everything works as planned, they ought to be operational within a few weeks.
Three of the plates will come fitted with cameras, which will send pictures from the trial and watch over the vessel’s heatshield.
Before the mission ends, the spacecraft undergoes one final engine firing to break free from Earth orbit and descend back through the atmosphere. SpaceX is streaming the South Texas launch on both its website and X, with the broadcast scheduled to begin at approximately 7:45 a.m. ET, roughly 30 minutes ahead of liftoff.
Why This Test Matters
This mission puts every piece of hardware SpaceX has assembled through its paces, with a flight duration far beyond anything attempted before. Earlier missions wrapped up within an hour, whereas this one will orbit Earth for ten hours.
The ability to reuse hardware is what cuts launch costs, and a successful orbital test would bring Starship closer to the objectives Musk has laid out:
- Moving cargo
- Surviving reentry
- Ultimately carrying people to Mars
The live stream starts around 7:45 a.m. ET.
Source material: “Can SpaceXs Starship actually loop Earth six times? Watch it live.,” Mashable.
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