Flight 14 waits on approval as a near-term manifest sketches Starships next steps

Date:
Sat, 26 Sep 2026 04:01:59 +0000

Description:
With Flight 14 being Starships first intended orbital mission, a near-term manifest is already pointing The post Flight 14 waits on approval as a near-term manifest sketches Starships next steps appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

With Flight 14 being Starships first intended orbital mission, a near-term manifest is already pointing to the next two flights in close succession.

Those dates look optimistic, and they may well slip, but they do confirm SpaceX is lining up a three-flight stretch from Flights 14 through 16: an orbital attempt from Starbase, a possible return to catching, and Starships expected East Coast debut.

Booster 21 and Ship 41 rolled out earlier this week after months of
pre-launch testing and preparations, then stacked at the pad for a wet dress rehearsal while SpaceX waited on approval.

From the outside, that test appeared to go well. Both stages were fully
loaded with propellant, there were no apparent holds at the optional T-minus 60-second hold point, and the count continued to just before engine ignition before the launch mounts top-deck water deluge started and shut down a few seconds later. Full Stack WDR

Next step: Launch License!

@NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/1vnv36XZ0u

Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto) September 24, 2026



Ship 41, already loaded with 26 Starlink V3 satellites, was destacked from Booster 21 on Friday but remained at the launch site.

A full stack nearly a week before the planned launch had raised questions about timing, but SpaceX said teams were using the regulatory pause to get an extra rehearsal in.

Earlier Starship versions rarely scrubbed close to launch; with Version 3,
the first two flights have each seen a scrub of some kind. The extra pad time also put the launch mount back into use more than two months after the last flight.

Approval could still arrive at any time, including over the weekend, so a Monday launch remains possible even without a license in hand tonight.

The October dates come from presentation slides posted through the CADENA air traffic management system, which flags upcoming events, weather, and other factors that could affect air traffic across North and South America.

As expected, the briefing dwells on the airspace impact of Flight 14 next
week and notes other space activity, including Falcon launches, but it also lists additional upcoming high-profile missions. This is super provisional!

Starship Flight 15 NET October 19 Starship Flight 16 (Starlink 30-1) KSC
39A NET October 30.

You can bet those dates will slip, but it shows some of SpaceX's forward planning. pic.twitter.com/aB7KihBsH8

NSF NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) September 24, 2026



Those entries put Starship Flight 15 no earlier than Oct. 19 and another Starship launch, Starlink Group 30-1, no earlier than Oct. 30. Flight 15 is understood to be the next Starbase mission after Flight 14 and the flight
that could restore catching, possibly of both vehicles.

See Also SpaceX Starship Program L2 SpaceX Section NSF Store Click here to Join L2

Starlink Group 30-1 is expected to be the first Starship launch from Launch Complex 39A in Florida; as with Flight 14, that East Coast mission has been given a Starlink designation, in this case 30-1 rather than 31-1.

The dates should be treated cautiously. SpaceX still needs a clean Flight 14 outcome; the Flight 15 vehicles still require their own engine testing, and some of the slide dates may already be days or weeks old. Extra regulatory approval, including for a possible ship catch on Flight 15, could push the schedule further.

A Florida launch would also require vehicles to be moved east and the pad to be fully activated. SpaceX tested LC-39As top-deck deluge system for the
first time Thursday night, a sign the pad is getting closer, but it still lacks a license to fly Starship from 39A. BREAKING NEWS

For the first time, moments ago, SpaceX tested the top deck deluge of the Starship launch mount at historic LC-39A in Florida!

See if they keep testing more tonight by watching the @NASASpaceflight 24/7 livestream, https://t.co/ejPQM0oNEh ! pic.twitter.com/Znw3e5dF7T

MattZ (@wvmattz) September 25, 2026



Those October targets are likely to spread out in the weeks ahead. They only hold if Flight 14 does what Version 3 has not done yet: get through the
count, reach orbit, and bring a working ship home through reentry. Until that happens, the manifest is a sketch. Flight 14 remains the key focus to set the stage for the next milestones.

Lead image: SpaceX

Flight 14 coverage plans

NASASpaceflight plans expanded coverage of Flight 14. Launch coverage is set to begin at T-minus 4 hours and continue through payload deployment.



If Starship is approved to remain in orbit, coverage would then shift to an orbital stakeout stream through the vehicles nearly eight-hour coast before deorbit and reentry. Dedicated deorbit, entry, and splashdown coverage would begin about 30 minutes before the deorbit burn.

The opening of the current window is 7:15 a.m. local time at Starbase, which could produce a sunrise launch. NASASpaceflight teams are already on site.



The post Flight 14 waits on approval as a near-term manifest sketches Starships next steps appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/09/flight-14-starships-forward-path/


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