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
Italian launch provider Avio says it is fielding a wave of new customer inquiries after SpaceX told several prospective clients it would not accept new commercial Falcon 9 orders. Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said some of these spurned customers lobbied European institutions at the International Space Summit in Paris for subsidies to offset the higher cost of flying on Europe's Vega C, which reportedly runs about $60 million per launch.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-18
SpaceX has redesigned its Starship engine, the Raptor, from a version covered in exposed pipes and wires into the compact Raptor 3 that first flew in May. Despite looking simpler, the newer engine produces roughly 35% more thrust than the original Raptor 1, prompting some observers to initially doubt images of the stripped-down design were genuine.
construction-physics.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
Hello Games' Cosmos update for No Man's Sky lets any pilot exit their ship in deep space, not just those flying corvette-class vessels. Players can now leave their ship at any moment via the Quick Menu and move freely using an upgraded jetpack system.
nomanssky.com
· 2026-09-09
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
SpaceX has flown its last scheduled Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral on a Falcon 9 for now, according to launch VP Kiko Dontchev. Future Florida Starlink launches will instead rely on Starship once it begins regular flights there, cutting the site's monthly launch rate from roughly eight or nine down to about two. West Coast Starlink launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base will continue as before.
science.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-29
The European Space Agency signed contracts totaling hundreds of millions of euros with three European launch startups—Rocket Factory Augsburg, PLD Space and Isar Aerospace—to fund continued development of their small launch vehicles. RFA received 186.9 million euros, PLD Space 158.9 million euros, and Isar Aerospace 197.8 million euros, mostly financed by their home nations with contributions from partner countries. A separate deal with MaiaSpace is reportedly close to finalization.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-08-28
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.
techspot.com
· 2026-08-26
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.
engadget.com
· 2026-08-26
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.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-08-26
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