SpaceX's massive Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket, is being readied for its next major test launch. Flight 14 is scheduled to liftoff as early as Monday, Sept. 28, at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT) from Starbase, Texas. The mission will be the vehicle's first-ever orbital launch attempt, and is set to deliver an operational stack of 26 upgraded Starlink V3 high-speed internet satellites to space.
Follow along here for our live updates as SpaceX completes preparations on the rocket's Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage, and progresses toward its 14th test launch of the Starship vehicle since 2023.
Go for propellant load
SpaceX has begun loading propellant aboard the Flight 14 Starship rocket. Liftoff is currently counting down toward 8:49 a.m. EDT (1249 GMT).
Go for propellant load. Teams will soon begin loading Starship with ~12 million pounds of liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Targeting launch for 7:48 a.m. CT https://t.co/abZvBCJAm5September 28, 2026
T-1 hour until launch
SpaceX's Starship is just 1 hour from the opening of the 75-minute launch window to lift off on its first orbital attempt.
Launch is scheduled for no earlier than 8:49 a.m. EDT (1249 GMT) this morning (Sept. 28) from Pad 2 at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas, according to an X post from SpaceX this morning.
The mission is expected to last up to 10 hours, as Starship completes up to six orbits around Earth before performing deorbit maneuvers. If successful, this will be Starship's first time on orbit, and a major step forward for SpaceX's Starship program.
Starship’s 14th flight is set to launch on Monday, Sept 28. The 75-minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the mission starts ~35 minutes before launch → https://t.co/uQKQvgaTmJSeptember 27, 2026
Starship Flight 14 wet dress rehearsal happening now
Image credit: SpaceX
Image credit: SpaceX
Image credit: SpaceX
The sun has risen on SpaceX's towering Starship ahead of the rocket's Flight 14 launch and first attempt to reach orbit. The company completed stacking of Starship's Booster 21 and Ship 41 yesterday (Sept. 23), and is preparing to complete a series of tests and simulated launch run-through known as a wet dress rehearsal.
"Sunrise at Starbase," SpaceX said in a post on X. "Opportunistic full stack testing is planned ahead of Flight 14's launch, which is on track for Monday, Sept. 28, pending regulatory approval."
Monday's 75-minute launch window opens at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT). Instead of the aproximately one-hour mission durations of Starship's previous suborbital launches, Flight 14's orbital jaunt, if everything goes according to plan, is expected to last nearly 10 hours.
Today's wet dress rehearsal, which involves fully fueling Starship on the launch pad for a full countdown simulation run, is expected to wrap up later this morning.
SpaceX stacks massive Starship rocket ahead of 1st orbital launch attempt (video)
Sunrise at Starbase. Opportunistic full stack testing is planned ahead of Flight 14's launch, which is on track for Monday, Sept. 28, pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/VnwI5v4eXQSeptember 23, 2026
Starship is stacked on the pad at Starbase
We are just under one week away from the next launch of SpaceX's giant Starship rocket. The company is targeting a 75-minute window that opens at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT) on Monday, Sept. 28, for liftoff of Starship's Flight 14 test launch, and the vehicle's first attempt to reach orbit.
SpaceX rolled the mission's Super Heavy booster (Booster 21) to Pad 2 at the company's Starbase, Texas, facility earlier this week, where its Ship upper stage (Ship 41) was delivered also last night.
The two stage are now stacked, according to NASA Spaceflight, ahead of a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) expected to take place on Thursday (Sept. 24). SpaceX announced Flight 14's Sept. 28 target last week, though the mission has yet to receive regulatory approval for launch.
Flight 14 is poised to be Starship's first time in orbit, and expected to last much longer than previous flights — about nine hours longer than the spacecraft's previous one-hour suborbital hops. Booster 21 and Ship 41 are both slated for soft splashdowns at sea; Super Heavy, following stage separation, and Ship following approximately six complete orbits, according to SpaceX's Flight 14 mission page.