Starship Flight 14 reaches orbit for the first time, deploys 26 Starlink V3 satellites
AI寒武纪 · wechat · 2026-09-28
SpaceX launched Starship Flight 14 from Starbase, Texas — the first Starship to truly reach Earth orbit and carry an operational payload, using the Block 3 Super Heavy booster B21 and Ship 41.
- The booster performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico after ascent, hot staging, and return; the ship executed orbital insertion into a 275 km near-circular orbit.
- The payload was 26 Starlink V3 satellites (Group 31-1), deployed starting 34 minutes after launch and completed 1 hour 4 minutes in; all are in orbit and in contact.
- Each V3 satellite offers 1 Tbps downlink (10x V2) and 160 Gbps uplink (22x), with 2,048 beams and six 400 Gbps laser links; this single launch adds 26 Tbps of potential capacity. Three satellites carry cameras to image Ship 41's heat shield for future return and catch data.
- The ship plans 6 orbits over nearly 10 hours before deorbiting into the Pacific west of Chile. All prior 13 flights were suborbital tests.
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