SpaceX launched Starship Flight 14 from Starbase, Texas, on September 28, 2026, at about 7:48 a.m. Central Time. The company says Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The flight team shortened the orbital coast after an engine shutdown, and the two stages splashed down separately. SpaceX’s mission account details the flight. NeoTeo previously covered the planned Flight 14 orbital attempt.
Starship Flight 14’s launch and first orbital flight
Flight 14 lifted off from Starbase, SpaceX’s Texas launch site. After the ascent, the flight team assessed Starship’s systems and authorized an orbit-insertion burn. Starship entered Earth orbit, marking its first orbital flight.
Engine shutdowns and the decision to proceed
One of Super Heavy’s 33 Raptor 3 engines shut down during the initial ascent. The booster later relit 31 of 33 engines for its boostback burn and 11 of the 13 planned engines for the high-thrust portion of its landing burn.
One of Starship’s three Raptor vacuum engines also shut down early during ascent. The remaining five engines burned longer to compensate for the lost thrust. After assessing the ship’s system health, the flight team authorized orbit insertion using one sea-level Raptor.
Starship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites
Starship released 26 Starlink V3 satellites in orbit. SpaceX says contact was made with all 26, making the flight the vehicle’s first delivery of a payload to orbit.
A shortened coast and two splashdowns
The team shortened Starship’s orbital coast out of caution following the vacuum-engine shutdown. Starship performed its first deorbit burn, reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the northern Pacific.
Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf after its return sequence. SpaceX says it triggered the flight-termination system after the landing-burn shutdown as a demonstration of the safety hardware.
