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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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 has flown its last Starlink mission on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral for the foreseeable future, according to company launch VP Kiko Dontchev. Going forward, Starlink launches from Florida will be handled by the still-developing Starship rocket, dropping the site's monthly launch count from roughly eight or nine to about two. SpaceX will instead lean more heavily on its Vandenberg pad in California to keep deploying Starlink satellites.
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.