SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 · 7:15 A.M. CT
The 14th flight of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Tuesday, September 22, pending regulatory approval. The 75-minute launch window will open at 7:15 a.m. CT.
After stage separation and flip on Flight 13, the Super Heavy booster was able to use all 33 engines on its boostback burn for the first time. In the terminal phase of the burn, the three center engines showed signs of ice clogging which triggered an early end to the maneuver.
The upcoming flight is planned to be the first to send Starship into orbit around Earth. Flight tests until this point have intentionally flown passively safe suborbital trajectories. By going to orbit, the next phase of developing Starship to be fully and rapidly reusable can begin.
This will also mark the first time Starlink V3 satellites are planned to deploy into the constellation — 26 satellites, ~10× the capacity of a Falcon 9 V2 mini launch.
The booster’s primary test objective is a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn at an offshore point in the Gulf. Starship’s objectives include the first orbital insertion, payload deploy, a deorbit burn, and splashdown west of Chile after ~10 hours and six orbits at ~275 km.
All Times Approximate
| Hr/Min/Sec | Event |
|---|---|
| 00:50:00 | Flight Director conducts poll and verifies GO for propellant load |
| 00:36:33 | Booster LOX (liquid oxygen) load underway |
| 00:35:00 | Booster fuel (liquid methane) load underway |
| 00:34:13 | Ship LOX load underway |
| 00:34:11 | Ship fuel load underway |
| 00:21:40 | Raptor begins engine chill on booster and ship |
| 00:02:50 | Booster propellant load complete |
| 00:02:10 | Ship propellant load complete |
| 00:00:30 | Flight director verifies GO for launch |
| 00:00:17 | Flame diverter activation |
| 00:00:03 | Booster engine startup command |
| 00:00:00 | Liftoff |
All Times Approximate
| Hr/Min/Sec | Event |
|---|---|
| 00:00:00 | Liftoff |
| 00:00:58 | Max Q (moment of peak aerodynamic stress on the rocket) |
| 00:02:20 | Super Heavy MECO (most engines cut off) |
| 00:02:22 | Hot-staging (Starship Raptor ignition and stage separation) |
| 00:02:27 | Super Heavy boostback burn start |
| 00:03:07 | Super Heavy boostback burn shutdown |
| 00:06:35 | Super Heavy landing burn start |
| 00:07:01 | Super Heavy landing burn shutdown |
| 00:08:11 | Starship engine cutoff |
| 00:25:28 | Starship orbital insertion burn start |
| 00:25:47 | Starship orbital insertion burn shutdown |
| 00:34:18 | Payload deploy start |
| 01:04:50 | Payload deploy complete |
| 08:52:18 | Deorbit burn start |
| 08:52:29 | Deorbit burn shutdown |
| 09:28:52 | Starship entry |
| 09:47:30 | Starship is transonic |
| 09:48:07 | Starship is subsonic |
| 09:50:11 | Landing burn start |
| 09:50:13 | Landing flip |
| 09:50:21 | Landing burn 3 to 2 engines |
| 09:50:22 | Landing burn 2 to 1 engine |
| 09:50:30 | Landing |