SpaceX aims to put Starship in orbit for the first time

SpaceX aims to put Starship in orbit for the first time on its 14th test flight. The test, expected to last about 10 hours, will involve the upper stage of the experimental rocket flying into Earth orbit and deploying 26 next-generation Starlink satellites there. The flight is scheduled to take place in Texas starting at 7:15 a.m. local time (12:15 p.m. GMT). The rocket will attempt to reach a circular orbit about 275 km (171 miles) above Earth, requiring a speed of about 28,000 km/h (17,400 miles per hour). If all goes well, the spacecraft will then attempt to deploy satellites designed to expand the company's already massive satellite internet constellation.

• The test is the 14th flight of the Starship rocket.
• The rocket will attempt to reach a circular orbit about 275 km above Earth.
• The flight will involve deploying 26 next-generation Starlink satellites.
• The flight is scheduled to take place in Texas starting at 7:15 a.m. local time (12:15 p.m. GMT).

Multiple previous tests have ended in spectacular explosions. After several years of development and testing in Texas, SpaceX began flying the rocket in its full configuration in 2023, deliberately following suborbital trajectories, which are safer and less challenging. Numerous modifications have been made to the black-and-silver behemoth, the largest and most powerful object ever to have flown. But immense technical challenges remain before Starship—which Musk hopes to make fully reusable—can be considered ready for commercial flights or missions to the moon or Mars.

The development of Starship has faced repeated delays, and a Chinese company has recently made progress in the field of reusable rockets. Still, SpaceX continues to dominate the global space launch market, thanks to its partially reusable Falcon rockets, and has made risk-taking its mantra. Whether or not it is successful, this 14th test flight will be followed the same week by three other SpaceX rocket launches, one of which will carry a crew of astronauts to the International Space Station.

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