Place Starship in orbit around Earth
Every Starship flight test through Flight 13 was deliberately suborbital. On Flight 14, 28 September 2026, Starship performed an orbit insertion burn after its ascent burn and entered orbit around Earth for the first time.
Achieved
What do the status labels mean?
Announced: it has been said out loud, but we have not seen work toward it yet.
In progress: we can point to tests, hardware or contracts that show work under way.
Partially achieved: part of the job is done and shown, but not all of it.
Achieved: evidence matches the whole “done” description we wrote down.
Uncertain: sources disagree or are missing. We say so instead of guessing.
Paused or cancelled: a reliable source says work has stopped or the plan was dropped.
Full definitions →- Said on
- 15 September 2026
- First target In plain English
What is a target window?
A target window is when the company said something would happen. Sometimes that is an exact day. Often it is only a month, a quarter or a year.
We keep it exactly as vague or as precise as the company did. If they said “2026”, we show 2026. We never turn that into a made-up day in December.
When a company gives a new date later, we keep the old one too. You can always see how the plan moved.
Saying “I’ll visit this summer” is a window. Saying “I’ll visit on 14 July” is an exact date. They are not the same promise.
- Starting with Flight 14Open-ended precision, stated 15 September 2026
- Current target
- Starting with Flight 14Open-ended precision, stated 15 September 2026
- Last checked In plain English
Who checked this, and how?
Each record has a review note. It names who did the check and lists every claim that was compared with its source.
Right now these checks were done with AI help and have not yet been re-read by an independent human editor. We say this plainly on every page rather than hiding it.
A “review due” label means the record is older than two weeks and is scheduled for another look. The content is unchanged until then.
- 13 October 2026Next review due 27 October 2026
What would count as “done”
A Starship completes a circularisation burn after its ascent burn and is placed in orbit around Earth, as recorded by SpaceX or another primary source.
Why we say this
SpaceX's account of Flight 14 on 28 September 2026 states that after the ascent burn and a coast on a passively safe suborbital trajectory, Starship reignited a single Raptor sea-level engine to perform an orbit insertion burn and 'entered into orbit around Earth for the first time'. The flight timeline lists the orbital insertion burn at 25 minutes 17 seconds and a deorbit burn at 8 hours 52 minutes. That meets the completion criterion of a circularisation burn placing Starship in orbit.
Stated uncertainty. The orbital flight is recorded from SpaceX's own account; no independent tracking source has been checked. SpaceX cut the orbital coast short after an ascent engine shutdown, which does not affect whether orbit was reached.
How the date moved In plain EnglishWhat is a target window?
A target window is when the company said something would happen. Sometimes that is an exact day. Often it is only a month, a quarter or a year.
We keep it exactly as vague or as precise as the company did. If they said “2026”, we show 2026. We never turn that into a made-up day in December.
When a company gives a new date later, we keep the old one too. You can always see how the plan moved.
Saying “I’ll visit this summer” is a window. Saying “I’ll visit on 14 July” is an exact date. They are not the same promise.
What is a target window?
A target window is when the company said something would happen. Sometimes that is an exact day. Often it is only a month, a quarter or a year.
We keep it exactly as vague or as precise as the company did. If they said “2026”, we show 2026. We never turn that into a made-up day in December.
When a company gives a new date later, we keep the old one too. You can always see how the plan moved.
Saying “I’ll visit this summer” is a window. Saying “I’ll visit on 14 July” is an exact date. They are not the same promise.
- Stated 15 September 2026 · recorded here 18 September 2026 · current targetStarting with Flight 14 (Open-ended precision)
First stated target. SpaceX identified the flight number but not a date, so no calendar window is recorded.
What actually happened
Flight 14 performed an orbit insertion burn with one Raptor sea-level engine and entered orbit around Earth for the first time, deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, coasted, then performed Starship's first deorbit burn and splashed down on target in the northern Pacific. SpaceX shortened the time in orbit as a precaution after a Raptor vacuum engine shut down early during ascent.
Sources In plain EnglishWhere does the evidence come from?
Every status links to the page we read. We record who published it, when, and which part of it supports the claim.
A company saying something proves that the company said it. It does not prove the thing is true. When we can, we look for a second voice: a regulator, a partner like NASA, or an exchange.
If a page disappears later, we flag it. A missing page is not proof that a claim was wrong.
Source rules →
Where does the evidence come from?
Every status links to the page we read. We record who published it, when, and which part of it supports the claim.
A company saying something proves that the company said it. It does not prove the thing is true. When we can, we look for a second voice: a regulator, a partner like NASA, or an exchange.
If a page disappears later, we flag it. A missing page is not proof that a claim was wrong.
Source rules →Who checked this In plain EnglishWho checked this, and how?
Each record has a review note. It names who did the check and lists every claim that was compared with its source.
Right now these checks were done with AI help and have not yet been re-read by an independent human editor. We say this plainly on every page rather than hiding it.
A “review due” label means the record is older than two weeks and is scheduled for another look. The content is unchanged until then.
Who checked this, and how?
Each record has a review note. It names who did the check and lists every claim that was compared with its source.
Right now these checks were done with AI help and have not yet been re-read by an independent human editor. We say this plainly on every page rather than hiding it.
A “review due” label means the record is older than two weeks and is scheduled for another look. The content is unchanged until then.
Claims we compared with their sources
Flight 14 on 28 September 2026 performed an orbit insertion burn and entered orbit around Earth for the first time.
Stated directly, with the deorbit burn and Pacific splashdown recorded in the following paragraphs.
Flight 14 deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit, contact was made with each, and they will raise their orbits before serving customers.
Service entry is described as a future step; the record states that.
Starship's orbital coast was cut short as a precaution after a Raptor vacuum engine shut down early during ascent.
Recorded in the outcome; it does not bear on whether orbit was reached.
Flight 14 did not attempt ship-to-ship propellant transfer or a long-duration stay.
Neither is mentioned; the time in orbit was under nine hours. Both 2026 targets remain open.
What this check could not tell us
- AI-assisted review drafted on 14 October 2026 for owner approval before publication; not independent human review.
- Flight 14 outcomes rest on SpaceX's own mission page; no independent tracking or regulator source was checked for the flight.
- The 2025 Florida launch count comes from Launch Library 2, an aggregator, with the range operator's all-provider total as corroboration. SpaceX has published no year-end figure.
- Source pages were read through a browser on 13 October 2026 UTC (14 October in Sydney); accessedAt is normalised to 23:30 UTC.