SpaceX announced a September 22 launch date for Starship's first orbital flight from South Texas, targeting a 75-minute window starting at 8:15 a.m. EDT. The mission will deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites and mark a major milestone after 13 previous suborbital flights, with Ship expected to complete six Earth orbits before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX launched three telecom satellites to orbit on September 13, marking the company's 700th Falcon rocket mission. The Falcon 9 deployed the final three satellites for Luxembourg-based SES' O3b mPOWER constellation to medium Earth orbit, completing the 13-satellite system designed for low-latency global communications.