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California startup Reflect Orbital has purchased two launches from India's Skyroot Aerospace, using the Vikram-1 and an upgraded Vikram-1U rocket, according to Payload Space. Reflect Orbital plans to deploy a constellation of roughly 50,000 orbital mirrors that reflect sunlight to the ground for power and illumination, with its first satellite set to fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare next year.
SpaceX's 14th Starship test flight launched from Starbase, Texas, and for the first time accelerated the upper stage to full orbital velocity rather than the suborbital trajectories used in prior tests. During the flight, the rocket deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, which are too large to fit aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, releasing them one by one from its cargo bay. The Super Heavy booster separated and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near the launch site.
On its 14th test flight, SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time, despite one of its more than three dozen engines shutting down early. The uncrewed vehicle deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites before mission controllers cut the planned 10-hour flight to three hours, and the craft splashed down in the Pacific north of Hawaii, tipping over and catching fire.
SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas on Monday morning within a 75-minute window opening at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Flight 14 will attempt to send the vehicle's upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time, where it is meant to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites before splashing down in the Pacific near Chile after roughly 10 hours and six orbits.
SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas, on Monday morning, aiming for the vehicle's first orbital flight after 13 prior suborbital tests. The FAA authorized the launch and reentry operations on Sept. 26, and SpaceX intends to deploy 26 new Starlink V3 satellites during the mission.
SpaceX's Starship 40 flew a suborbital test from Starbase, Texas, to the Indian Ocean in about 65 minutes on July 24, deploying and later intentionally destroying 20 Starlink V3 satellites to validate the deployment system. Unlike prior test flights, this upper stage survived splashdown mostly intact, and SpaceX says retrieving and shipping it back to Texas will take several months.
SpaceX intends to build a new 125,000-acre spaceport called Starbase Louisiana at Pecan Island, featuring five launch complexes, propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping and an airport. Construction is slated to begin in 2027 with a first launch targeted for 2029, and the site could eventually support thousands of missions annually.
SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced plans for a 125,000-acre spaceport called Starbase, Louisiana, located at Pecan Island on the state's southern coast. The site will feature five launch complexes with two pads each, plus propellant production, power generation, vehicle processing facilities, and housing for workers, giving SpaceX a third launch location alongside its Texas and Florida sites.
SpaceX announced plans to construct a 125,000-acre launch facility in Louisiana, its largest to date, with construction starting next year. Named Starbase Louisiana, the site aims to support thousands of annual Starship missions to orbit, the Moon and Mars, with the first launch targeted for 2029. The project is expected to directly create over 3,000 jobs and generate more than 8,100 additional indirect jobs in the region.
SpaceX plans a second Starbase-style launch complex on former Exxon land in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, after a seven-year site search. The company says construction begins in 2027 with a first Starship launch targeted for 2029, though Louisiana's economic development agency projects operations starting in 2030.
SpaceX announced plans for a new spaceport, Starbase Louisiana, in Vermillion Parish, designed to support thousands of launches per year for its Starship rocket. The project, valued at $100 billion, follows a seven-year site search and is expected to create around 10,000 jobs, according to Elon Musk. SpaceX also pledged to fund coastal wetland restoration efforts alongside the state as part of the deal.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced that SpaceX will invest up to $100 billion to construct a large-scale Starship manufacturing and launch complex along the state's Gulf coast, near Abbeville. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell described the site as a self-sufficient spaceport featuring propellant production, power generation, deep-water shipping, vehicle processing, and its own airport.