Watch LIVE: Starship Super Heavy to attempt to reach orbit for the first time
SpaceX's massive Starship-Super Heavy rocket is set to take off from Starbase, Texas, on Monday, September 28, in its 14th flight test, with the company attempting to send the spacecraft into Earth orbit for the first time.
The launch window opens at 5:45 pm IST and will remain open for 75 minutes, subject to weather and operational conditions.advertisement❮❯ Read Full StoryWATCH STARSHIP SUPER HEAVY LAUNCH LIVE HERE
The mission marks a crucial step in the development of the world's most powerful rocket, which SpaceX is building as a fully reusable transportation system for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
All 13 previous Starship test flights followed suborbital trajectories, reaching space without completing a full orbit around Earth. Flight 14 is designed to change that.
The 124-metre-tall rocket comprises two stages: the Super Heavy booster, which provides the thrust needed to lift the vehicle off the ground, and the Starship upper stage, which is designed to carry people and cargo into space.
During the mission, the Super Heavy booster will separate after liftoff and attempt a controlled descent into the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX is not planning to recover the booster or the upper stage during this flight.
If the ascent goes as planned, Starship's upper stage, Ship 41, will attempt an engine burn about 25 minutes after liftoff to enter orbit at an altitude of roughly 275 kilometres. It is expected to circle Earth about six times during a mission lasting nearly 10 hours before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.26 STARLINK SATELLITES ONBOARD
Flight 14 will also carry 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, which SpaceX plans to deploy once the spacecraft reaches orbit.
The satellites are designed to provide greater communications capacity and faster data transmission, supporting the company's expanding satellite internet network.
The mission will test several capabilities required for future Starship operations, including orbital engine relighting, satellite deployment, controlled re-entry and heat-shield performance.
Three of the satellites will also carry imaging capabilities to record the spacecraft's heat shield during flight.A CRUCIAL STEP TOWARDS MOON AND MARS MISSIONS
Starship is central to SpaceX's long-term plans for deep-space exploration.
Nasa has selected a version of the spacecraft to serve as a human landing system for its Artemis programme, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon.
However, the rocket still needs to demonstrate reliable orbital operations, repeated launches and landings, and in-space refuelling before it can support such missions.
Flight 14 will therefore be an important engineering test. Successfully reaching orbit and deploying the satellites would provide SpaceX with critical data as it works towards making Starship fully and rapidly reusable.
The launch follows the completion of a wet dress rehearsal on September 24, during which SpaceX loaded propellants into the vehicle and tested launch-day procedures without firing its engines. The Federal Aviation Administration issued launch and re-entry authorisation on September 26.- Ends
