SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026, during Flight 14, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down in the Pacific. It was a significant flight-test milestone, but NASA’s planned Artemis IV landing also depends on a commercial lander ready to take astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back.
Earlier, NeoTeo covered the plan for Starship’s first orbital attempt. Flight 14 completed that milestone, with more work ahead for the Starship Human Landing System (HLS), the lunar lander SpaceX is developing for NASA.
What Starship Flight 14 achieved
SpaceX reported that Flight 14 deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites and established contact with each one. The flight ended with an on-target Pacific splashdown after about 9 hours and 50 minutes.
The ascent included two engine shutdowns: one Super Heavy engine and one Starship vacuum engine early in the upper-stage climb. Starship continued to orbit. SpaceX said the flight team shortened the orbital phase out of caution after the engine issue.
Reaching orbit tested an important part of Starship’s flight, but the Artemis lander has to do considerably more: it must transfer between vehicles, meet Orion in lunar orbit, land on the Moon and return to orbit.
NASA’s planned Artemis IV landing sequence
NASA targets Artemis IV for early 2028. Four astronauts are planned to launch aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. In lunar orbit, two crew members are to transfer to a human landing system, descend to the lunar surface for about a week, then return to lunar orbit.
| Mission | Planned timing | Planned role |
| Artemis III | Mid-2027 | Low-Earth-orbit demonstration to test rendezvous and docking between Orion and one or both commercial landers. |
| Artemis IV | Early 2028 | Crewed lunar landing: two astronauts descend to the surface in a human landing system and return to lunar orbit. |
NASA’s March 2026 architecture plan makes lander readiness the condition for deciding which provider will carry the crew to the surface and back to Orion.
What Artemis III is planned to test
Artemis III is planned as a low-Earth-orbit demonstration in mid-2027. NASA says the mission will test rendezvous and docking between Orion and one or both commercial landers. A rendezvous brings spacecraft together in orbit; docking joins them so crew can transfer between vehicles.
That planned test addresses one part of the mission sequence. Artemis IV would require the lander to carry astronauts between lunar orbit and the surface, and then return them to orbit.
Reported demonstrations still ahead for Starship HLS
Reported readiness milestones for Starship HLS include reliable orbital operation and transferring cryogenic propellant between Starships. Cryogenic propellants are kept at extremely low temperatures; transferring them in orbit is a separate capability from reaching orbit with a payload.
The reported milestones also include docking with Orion, making a safe lunar touchdown and ascending back to lunar orbit. Together, these tasks span the lander’s full job in Artemis IV, from meeting the crew’s spacecraft to returning the astronauts to lunar orbit.
