SpaceX prepares to send Starship to orbit for first time

SpaceX is preparing to launch its massive Starship rocket on its first orbital flight, designated Flight 14, on Monday, 28 September 2026, from Starbase, Texas. The mission, authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration, aims to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. Starlink is SpaceX's primary revenue driver, generating $11.4 billion in 2025, with Morgan Stanley projecting $18.5 billion by the end of 2026. The launch comes amid industry-wide capacity constraints as SpaceX increasingly prioritizes its own satellite deployments.

Launch preparations for Starship Flight 14

• ▪SpaceX plans to launch Starship on Starship's first orbital flight, designated Flight 14, from Starbase, Texas, on Monday, 28 September 2026, with a 75-minute launch window starting at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time
• ▪The Federal Aviation Administration issued a license authorization for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Flight 14 launch and reentry operations on 26 September 2026
• ▪Analyst Kim Burke said the SpaceX Starship Flight 14 test will not attempt a booster or ship catch, and the V3 booster used for Flight 14 is scheduled to head for the Gulf of Mexico

Starship test flights

• ▪SpaceX is preparing Starship for a major NASA test flight in 2027 to eventually return United States astronauts to the surface of the moon
• ▪None of the 13 earlier Starship test flights were intended to reach orbit

Deployment of Starlink V3 satellites

• ▪The Starlink V3 satellites, produced in Redmond, Washington, feature solar arrays generating twice the power and provide ten times the broadband capacity of previous generations
• ▪The SpaceX Starship Flight 14 orbital mission plans to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites into orbit

Starlink's dominance in the satellite industry

• ▪SpaceX has increased its launch share for Starlink deployments from approximately 50% of launches in 2020 to nearly 80% of launches in 2026
• ▪The high volume of SpaceX Starlink launches has squeezed the space industry, leaving some satellite operators waiting years to launch their spacecraft
• ▪SpaceX operates approximately 11,000 active satellites in orbit today, compared to roughly 650 active satellites operated by competitor Eutelsat OneWeb

Financial performance of Starlink

• ▪Morgan Stanley projects that SpaceX's Starlink revenue alone will grow to $18.5 billion by the end of 2026
• ▪Starlink generated $11.4 billion of SpaceX's total $15.5 billion in revenue in 2025, and was the company's only profitable segment as of the second quarter of 2026

Debatable claims

• ▪Starlink's massive satellite constellation poses an unacceptable risk to orbital safety
• ▪SpaceX's prioritization of Starlink deployments over third-party satellites is justified