{"id":903035,"date":"2026-09-23T22:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903035\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T22:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:58:14","slug":"spacex-stacks-massive-starship-rocket-ahead-of-1st-orbital-launch-attempt-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903035\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX stacks massive Starship rocket ahead of 1st orbital launch attempt (video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

SpaceX has completed assembly of the Starship rocket slated to launch the test vehicle\u2019s most ambitious mission to date.<\/p>\n

Flight 14, the 14th full-stack launch of Starship\u2019s test campaign, is slated to lift off during a 75-minute window that opens at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT) on Sept. 28. The Super Heavy first stage for Flight 14, Booster 21, was transported to Starbase\u2019s Pad 2<\/a> earlier this week, and its upper-stage Ship (Ship 41) joined its counterpart<\/a> at the pad overnight on Wednesday (Sept. 23).<\/p>\n

The two were stacked before the sun<\/a> rose on the South Texas launch facility and are undergoing final checkouts before SpaceX<\/a> performs a key fueling test known as a wet dress rehearsal, which is expected sometime Thursday (Sept. 24).<\/p>\n

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\"A\n<\/p>\n

SpaceX transported Ship 41 to Starbase Pad 2 for stacking on Booster 21 on Sept. 22, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)<\/p>\n

Flight 14 will be Starship\u2019s first attempt at reaching orbit, and a major milestone for the launch vehicle that has now been in development for 10 years. If all goes according to plan, Flight 14 will also see the first deployment of SpaceX\u2019s upgraded Starlink<\/a> Version 3 (V3) high-speed internet satellites. Starship<\/a> has carried small batches of V3 Starlinks on previous launches, but those missions\u2019 suborbital trajectories meant the satellites<\/a> burned up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere rather than remaining in orbit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ship 41 has been loaded with 26 Starlink V3s, which, if successfully deployed, will be the very first in a constellation that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk<\/a> hopes to grow to more than 100,000. The larger, more powerful Starlink V3s will eventually completely replace the existing Starlink network and, according to Musk, will occupy low Earth orbit<\/a> (LEO) alongside an even larger network of more than 1 million AI data center satellites, if SpaceX gets regulatory approval.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Deploying these first V3 Starlinks will depend on Starship reaching orbit, a feat the rocket has yet to attempt. Starship\u2019s first 13 flights all flew suborbital trajectories by design, as SpaceX fine-tuned the launch vehicle\u2019s design. Like the Starlink satellites it\u2019s carrying, Starship is also in its V3 design iteration. SpaceX is confident that the V3 Starship can carry out the elementary components of its immediate missions ahead: chiefly, reaching orbit, deploying its payload and returning safely to Earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Much beyond that requires clearing a few technological hurdles SpaceX has yet to tackle, such as orbital refueling and storing cryogenic propellants in space<\/a>. For Starship to deliver payloads beyond LEO will require supplemental Starship \u201ctanker\u201d launches to replenish a primary Ship\u2019s propellant. And SpaceX will need to overcome those obstacles to Starship\u2019s full operational status soon.<\/p>\n

\"Space\"<\/p>\n

In addition to SpaceX\u2019s own eagerness to begin launching the Starlink V3 megaconstellation, NASA<\/a> has also contracted the vehicle as a lunar lander for the Artemis program<\/a>. NASA is expecting an orbital spacecraft capable of docking with the agency\u2019s Orion spacecraft<\/a> in time for Artemis III in mid-2027, and a crew-certified vehicle to land astronauts on the moon<\/a> on Artemis IV, in 2028.<\/p>\n

If everything goes smoothly during Thursday\u2019s wet dress rehearsal, SpaceX will be free to proceed toward Flight 14\u2019s Sept. 28 launch target, pending regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration . Unlike previous suborbital flights that have lasted only about an hour, Flight 14\u2019s orbital jaunt is expected to last about 10 hours from liftoff to splashdown of Ship 41 in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SpaceX has completed assembly of the Starship rocket slated to launch the test vehicle\u2019s most ambitious mission to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,128,285],"class_list":["post-903035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}