SpaceX Starship reached orbit for the first time on its 14th test flight from Texas on September 28 despite an early engine shutdown. The vehicle is expected to complete six orbits over 10 hours and deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites before Pacific splashdown.
Starship is built to launch SpaceX’s Starlink satellites more frequently and to carry future NASA missions to the moon.
Reaching orbit has been a primary benchmark for the rocket, which had faced repeated delays in prior test flights.
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NASA will conduct a 2027 Earth-orbit test of successive docking between Orion and lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin to support a planned 2028 crewed moon landing. The agency expanded contracts with both companies after launch delays raised concerns about falling behind China.
SpaceX reported Q3 2026 revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier, and net income of $4.4 billion. On its earnings webcast, CFO Bret Johnsen said SpaceX expects Q1 2027 revenue of $33 billion to $37 billion, and CEO Elon Musk said SpaceX will try to catch Starship on Flight 15 next month, pending FAA approval.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, November 13 for Starship Flight 15, according to SpaceX vice president of launch Kiko Dontchev. The company plans to attempt its first ship catch on that flight; the date is a target, not a guarantee, and SpaceX has not posted a mission page or FAA Flight 15 license listing yet.
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed an order that keeps a lawsuit by eight former SpaceX employees in court. The ruling applies a 2021 federal law on sexual harassment disputes and does not decide whether the company harassed or wrongfully fired anyone.
SpaceX has said it plans to invest more than $74 billion in supercomputing campuses at Starbase in Texas and in Cochise County, Arizona. The Arizona campus still needs county approval, and the Texas site would generate its own power.
