SpaceX completes launch rehearsal for Starship Flight 14, first orbital test set for 28 September

SpaceX has completed a wet dress rehearsal for Starship, clearing a key hurdle for the vehicle’s first orbital flight test, targeted for Monday 28 September.

The company announced on 24 September that the rehearsal — a full launch simulation in which the rocket is loaded with liquid propellant and run through the countdown without lifting off — was finished. The 124-metre rocket, Booster 21 topped with Ship 41, was stacked at Starbase in south Texas earlier in the week.

Flight 14 would be the vehicle’s first orbital mission after 13 suborbital test flights. The plan calls for six laps around Earth at about 275 kilometres over nearly 10 hours, with 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites — the first members of the new constellation — deployed shortly after orbital insertion.

The flight still needs a launch licence from the Federal Aviation Administration before the 75-minute window can open at 8:15am Eastern Time. Spaceflight Now reports that an FAA temporary flight restriction over Starbase was already in place from 23 September through 7 October.

If the mission proceeds, the Super Heavy booster will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after launch, while the ship will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off Chile — a new recovery zone.

Sources

• SpaceX stack Starship and Super Heavy for first orbital flight – Spaceflight Now
• SpaceX Starship’s First Orbital Flight Test On Track After Successful Launch Rehearsal – Engadget
• SpaceX Readies Starship for First Orbital Attempt – Particle