SpaceX is targeting September 28 at 8:15AM Eastern for Starship's 14th flight, pending regulatory approval, after pushing the date back from September 22. Unlike prior suborbital tests, this flight will send Starship into orbit for six loops around Earth over 10 hours and deploy 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites into the constellation. The Super Heavy booster will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the upper stage will later be deorbited into the Pacific.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-19
LeoLabs has built a transportable radar system called Scout-S, a shipping-container-sized unit that can be set up almost anywhere in a matter of hours using just a generator and a Starlink connection. The system is designed to monitor the rapidly growing number of satellites and debris fragments in low Earth orbit, which has swelled from roughly 2,000 objects in 2019 to nearly 17,000 today, with Starlink accounting for most of that growth.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-18
At the first International Space Summit in Paris on September 10, European leaders including Ursula von der Leyen and Emmanuel Macron called for the continent to build its own launch and crewed spaceflight capacity rather than relying on NASA and firms like SpaceX. The event took on added significance after reports that the White House discouraged US companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin from attending, which one former satellite executive called a wake-up call.
nature.com
· 2026-09-18
The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is spending $94 million over three and a half years across 18 projects to build high-altitude pseudo-satellites—essentially long-endurance drones—that would deliver wireless internet to areas lacking ground networks. The program, called Enduring Atmospheric Platforms, targets a unit carrying a 300-watt communications payload that can stay airborne for a full week, with work split into technology development, system integration, and deployment phases.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-17
SpaceX plans to launch its 14th Starship test flight as early as September 22 from Texas, pending regulatory approval, marking the first attempt to send the vehicle into orbit. The mission will carry 26 large V3 Starlink satellites to a 275 km orbit, with the upper stage aiming to complete six orbits over roughly 10 hours.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-15
SpaceX announced its 14th Starship test flight for September 22, targeting a 75-minute launch window starting at 7:15 a.m. CT. For the first time, the mission will attempt to place Starship's upper stage into Earth orbit while deploying 26 third-generation Starlink satellites.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-15
Researchers at Curtin University analyzed 76 million radio images over 29 days using a prototype SKA-Low station and detected 112,534 unauthorized emissions from 1,806 Starlink satellites within the exact frequency band needed to study cosmic dawn hydrogen signals. The leakage, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, comes not from intentional Starlink transmissions but from unplanned electronic interference radiating through satellite hardware, including periodic 13-kHz tones near 137 MHz.
gadgetreview.com
· 2026-09-12
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.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-08
xAI-affiliated SpaceXAI is giving Memphis and Southaven, Mississippi residents 50% off Starlink internet plans and waiving the upfront cost of its new V5 hardware kit, following criticism over unpermitted gas generators powering its AI data centers. About 2,000 households have signed up since the July launch, a small fraction of the roughly 250,000 households in the Memphis area. A similar promotion is running in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-05
xAI is offering a 50% discount on Starlink residential internet plans to residents near its Memphis and Southaven data centers, along with free hardware for its new Starlink V5 rental kit, saving up to $349 upfront. The company says roughly 2,000 people have signed up since the promotion began in late June, even as it faces criticism over unpermitted gas turbines powering its facilities.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-04
None of the 16 Rassvet satellites Russia launched in June reached their planned 870-km orbit, with several drifting as low as 300-400 km and two already re-entering the atmosphere, according to the Institute for the Study of War citing N2YO tracking data. The March batch of 16 satellites also had issues, with one lost and only 12 reaching proper altitude, undermining Bureau 1440's plan to build a Starlink competitor.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-03
Russia's Bureau 1440 has launched 32 Rassvet satellites in two batches this year, but none have reached their intended 500-mile orbit. Tracking data shows most satellites topped out near 300 miles, several stopped maneuvering entirely, and at least three have already reentered or appear headed for reentry.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-02
GoKawiil