SpaceX is targeting September 22 for the first orbital flight test of its Starship rocket. The launch remains pending regulatory approval and will depart from the Starbase facility in Texas. This mission advances a fully reusable system designed for transport to Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. [24]
The flight plan targets an altitude of 275 km and nearly six orbits over 10 hours. The rocket will splash down in the Pacific Ocean following the mission. SpaceX will deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites for the first time during this flight. Engineers implemented hardware and software updates to resolve issues identified in previous sub-orbital tests. [24]