Skip to main content

SpaceX reveals plan for Starship’s first orbital test flight

A week after SpaceX nailed the first safe landing of its next-generation Starship rocket and spacecraft, the company has revealed plans for the booster’s first orbital test flight.

The mission, details of which were revealed this week in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, would see Starship’s first flight atop SpaceX’s first-stage Super Heavy rocket.

Recommended Videos

The launch will take place at SpaceX’s site in Boca Chica, Texas. About 170 seconds after lifting off, Starship will detach from the main Super Heavy booster, which will then come down in the Gulf of Mexico, about 20 miles from the shore.

Starship will continue on a flight path that takes it into orbit for the very first time. A short while later, it’ll perform a powered, targeted splashdown about 62 miles (100 km) off the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The mission, from launch to Starship’s splashdown, is expected to take around 90 minutes.

In the filing, SpaceX said the aim of the flight is to “collect as much data as possible” to learn more about Starship’s entry dynamics and to better understand what the vehicle experiences during a flight, with any lessons learned to be applied to the next iteration of the machine.

SpaceX is yet to reveal a target date for Starship’s first orbital flight. The California-based company has said previously that it was hoping to conduct the mission as early as July, though with Super Heavy itself yet to undergo any significant testing, that date looks set to slip.

SpaceX is planning to work with NASA to use Starship and Super Heavy to transport crews to the moon and beyond. As part of testing, the company attempted its first high-altitude flight of Starship at the end of last year, but the rocket, which is supposed to land upright, came down too heavily and exploded. Subsequent test flights also ended in fireballs, but earlier this month Starship finally made a safe landing, taking it a big step toward its first orbital flight.

The company, led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, currently enjoys success with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket, deploying satellites into orbit and, more recently, ferrying crews to and from the International Space Station.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX’s Starlink rival is about to launch more internet satellites — here’s how to watch
Amazon's KA-01 mission for Project Kuiper gets underway from the Space Coast.

Amazon is preparing to launch its second batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit as it seeks to build out a constellation to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service.

The KA-02 mission had been delayed due to inclement weather, but Amazon and rocket provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) appear confident that it can send the satellites skyward on Monday, June 23.

Read more
SpaceX Starlink rivalry grows as next Kuiper deployment nears
A ULA rocket launching Amazon's first Project Kuiper satellites in April 2025.

Amazon is about to send another batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit as it seeks to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service to provide broadband internet to customers around the world.

The tech giant has a long way to go before it has any hope of effectively challenging Starlink, but with its second launch set for next week, progress is being made toward its goal.

Read more
SpaceX just called off Wednesday’s crewed launch to the ISS
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket waits to launch the Ax-4 mission to the space station.

SpaceX has just announced that it’s standing down from tomorrow’s Falcon 9 launch of Axiom Space’s Ax-4 crew to the International Space Station (ISS). A new target launch date has yet to be announced.

In a post on X on Tuesday evening, SpaceX said its engineers need more time to repair the liquid oxygen leak identified during earlier booster inspections, and therefore would not be launching on June 11. Another plan to launch Ax-4 was also called off 24 hours earlier due to strong winds in the ascent corridor.

Read more