SpaceX plans to launch its 14th Starship test flight as early as 22 September, marking the first attempt to send the vehicle into orbit. Reaching orbit would be a significant milestone for the Starship programme, which began test flights in April 2023 and has progressed unevenly since, as the company works towards a fully reusable, super-heavy-lift rocket.

Liftoff from Texas is targeted for 7:15am local time within a 75-minute window, with the upper stage carrying 26 upgraded V3 Starlink satellites to an orbit 275km above Earth and aiming to complete six orbits over roughly ten hours. Following engine icing problems that caused a hard splashdown for the booster on the previous July flight, this mission's Super Heavy booster will attempt a controlled Gulf of Mexico landing rather than returning to the launch site, while the upper stage will skip a return attempt so SpaceX can gather further heat-shield data, incorporating tile upgrades and, for the first time, two reused tiles from a previous flight.