STARBASE, Texas — SpaceX will launch Starship on its 14th test flight Monday morning from its Starbase facility in South Texas, with the mission set to attempt the spacecraft’s first trip into Earth orbit.
The 75-minute launch window will open at 8:15 a.m. ET, with SpaceX targeting liftoff at 8:46 a.m. ET.
SpaceX plans to keep Starship in orbit for nearly 10 hours and complete six orbits before the spacecraft splashes down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.
Starship to deploy Starlink satellites
The mission will also deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, which SpaceX says will expand the network’s capacity and increase user speeds.
The flight marks another step in SpaceX’s testing of Starship, the company’s largest rocket system and a vehicle it plans to use for future space missions.
Flight 13 completed longer test
SpaceX launched Starship’s 13th test flight on July 24 from Starbase.
The 407-foot rocket flew about halfway around Earth and deployed 20 Starlink satellites before Starship reentered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
The spacecraft completed an approximately one-hour flight and splashed down upright and afloat, prompting cheers from SpaceX employees at the launch site.
SpaceX engineer Kate Tice called the mission “lucky flight 13.”
Earlier Starship test flights ended with explosions during flight or fiery splashdowns, making the previous mission a significant test for the spacecraft’s development.