What is Starship, and what has its test flying shown so far?
Starship has launched 14 times, with 9 successes and 5 failures, and only on its 14th flight did it go into orbit. SpaceX plans to try catching a returning ship with its tower next.
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Starship is SpaceX's giant, fully two-stage rocket, designed so that both the booster and the upper ship return and land for reuse. Stacked and fuelled it is about 124 metres tall and weighs about 5,300 tonnes. If completed as designed, it would be the first fully reusable orbital rocket and have the highest capacity of any launch vehicle to date.
What has the test flying shown? As of 28 September 2026, Starship had launched 14 times, with 9 successful flights and 5 failures. The first orbital test, in April 2023, reached 39 kilometres before its flight termination system was activated. Flight 4, in June 2024, was a milestone: the booster made a soft and the ship survived reentry. Setbacks followed in 2025, including the loss of the first four Block 2 upper stages, and Starship did not attempt orbit until flight 14.
That flight, on 28 September 2026, entered Earth orbit and deployed 26 operational V3 satellites. It was cut short: SpaceX shortened it from a planned six-orbit mission to one full orbit and a bit more, and the ship exploded after . As of October 2026, Flight 15 is expected no earlier than November, and SpaceX plans to try to catch both the booster and, for the first time, the ship with the launch tower.
SpaceX has Mars in view, but that is an ambition, not a result. According to SpaceX, its design is driven by the requirement to land crews on Mars, though SpaceX has not published technical plans for life support, radiation protection, docking or in-orbit refuelling for Mars.
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Recap
As of 28 September 2026: 14 flights, 9 successes, 5 failures; flight 15 is expected no earlier than November.
π‘ A trick to remember it Β· Fly, break, fix, fly again: Starship is built by flying and learning, so the scoreboard counts tries as much as wins.
Surprising fact Β· It reached orbit only on its 14th flight, on 28 September 2026.
Sources (1)
No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (15 claims) cites at least one of these.