SpaceX’s Starship megarocket will attempt to reach orbit for the first time ever on Monday morning (Sept. 28), and you can watch the historic action live. Liftoff is scheduled from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas during a 75-minute window that opens at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT; 7:15 a.m. local Texas time).
When the rocket lifts off, it will be a turning point for the company and for the field of rocketry. Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed, measuring 407 feet (124 meters) in height when fully assembled. Its two parts — the Super Heavy booster and the Ship upper-stage spacecraft — are built to be fully and quickly reused, a development that SpaceX has described as the “holy grail of rocketry.”.
The Rocket That Has Flown Thirteen Times
The rocket first took flight in April 2023, and it has now flown 13 times since then, all of those journeys staying below orbit. The count is set to rise on Monday, when the large machine takes to the sky for its 14th launch.
Earlier missions were deliberately short. They reached a peak duration of 65 minutes and aimed for the Indian Ocean, just off the coast of Western Australia. This time the plan is much longer. The ship will orbit Earth six times before returning to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile, roughly 10 hours after liftoff.
The Super Heavy will not remain aloft for much time at all. It is set to descend into the Gulf of Mexico roughly seven minutes after launch, just as it has done during earlier missions.
What the Flight Will Carry
The 171-foot-tall (52 m) Ship is set to ride Flight 14 into Earth orbit, where it will deploy 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, marking the start of a new megaconstellation destined for low Earth orbit (LEO).
SpaceX currently operates about 11,000 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit, while Elon Musk has said the constellation will eventually consist of 100,000 spacecraft.
A Splashdown in the Pacific
Ship will make six passes around Earth before returning to land. It will land in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile almost 10 hours after taking off.
The difference is considerable when compared with the suborbital flights, which reached a peak duration of 65 minutes and aimed for the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Western Australia.
Reusability and the Chopsticks
SpaceX intends to return both Super Heavy and Ship to the launch pad during operational flights, where they will be caught by the tower’s “chopstick” arms.
This is the third time Super Heavy has performed a mission in this fashion, and Ship has not been used for it yet. The company has reserved Ship for a future launch, so its first flight remains untested. For now, Super Heavy keeps following the same path: it flies for roughly seven minutes before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, just as it has on earlier trips.
| Stage | Role | Reusability Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Super Heavy | Booster stage | Splash down in Gulf of Mexico |
| Ship | Upper-stage spacecraft | Catch with chopstick arms |
The Road Ahead for Starship
A flawless launch today does not mean Starship’s work is done. Every voyage beyond Earth orbit will need several meetings with “tanker” Ships to refuel the traveling vessel.
No mission by SpaceX has shown fuel moved between spacecraft beyond Earth’s orbit so far. Such a demonstration will probably arrive during a coming test flight. The firm has been pushing through a chain of ever more difficult tests, and attaining orbit stands as a major step on the road to those future missions.
A life-support system will need to be installed aboard the ship before any crewed flights can begin, and such missions may arrive sooner rather than later. NASA has already chosen the ship to serve as the first crewed lunar lander for its Artemis program, which is aiming to return humans to the moon on the Artemis IV mission for the first time in 2028.
What This Means for Spaceflight
For years, SpaceX has worked toward this moment, aiming to make Starship the vehicle that opens the heavens as never before. The company sees it as the means by which humanity can settle the moon and Mars, and perhaps push still farther into space.
The vehicle has not yet reached the point where it can take on world-changing work. It remains in the flight-test phase. Suborbital flights have already shown that the fundamental systems function as intended. Monday’s launch will reveal whether the complete assembly can endure the pressures of orbital flight.
This mission’s outcome has the power to change how companies and governments view space travel. SpaceX views Starship as the future of its enterprise.
“The holy grail of rocketry.”
SpaceX has set forth its aim to build fully reusable rockets, and Monday’s launch stands as a trial to determine whether the firm has truly attained that prize.
How to Watch the Launch
The live broadcast will start roughly 30 minutes prior to launch. It is presented by SpaceX, and you can view it within the box above.
The launch window opens at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT; 7:15 a.m. local Texas time).
The Test Flight That Counts
SpaceX has spent years building up to this moment, and the orbital test marks the finish line of that long stretch of effort.
A launch into orbit demands perfect execution from start to finish. From the moment the engines ignite until the vehicle touches down at sea, a single failure could bring the entire mission to an abrupt close.
What We Know About the Mission
Here is what we know about the upcoming flight:
- Launch: Monday, Sept. 28, at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT; 7:15 a.m. local Texas time)
- Location: SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas
- Vehicle: Starship, 407 feet (124 meters) tall when fully stacked
- Payload: 26 next-generation Starlink satellites
- Orbital insertion: Low Earth orbit (LEO)
- Return: Ship will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile
- Recovery: Super Heavy will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, as usual
At 8:15 a.m. EDT, the launch window opens. That works out to 1215 GMT, which converts to 7:15 a.m. local time in Texas.
The countdown begins now.
Source material: “SpaceX's Starship launching to orbit for first time ever today,” space.com.
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