For just the third time in 2026, SpaceX's massive Starship rocket is on the cusp of launching in South Texas.
About two months have gone by since the world's largest rocket got off the ground in July from
SpaceX's Starbase headquarters in Cameron County.
Now, Elon Musk's commercial spaceflight company is preparing for one of Starship's most crucial test flights to date. If all goes to plan, the 14th launch since April 2023 could be the mission that sends Starship to orbit for the first time.
Want to watch from Texas as the rocket begins its potentially historic Earth-circling mission? A public location near Starbase has become a popular spot for spectators.
Here's where you can watch SpaceX conduct its next Starship flight test from Starbase, Texas, as well as what to expect for a mission referred to as flight 14.
When is the next Starship launch date? SpaceX announces flight 14
SpaceX is working toward a Monday, Sept. 28, launch of its Starship rocket, the company announced. The launch window is due to open from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. CT.
Now targeting to launch Starship Flight 14 as early as Monday, September 28, pending regulatory approval https://t.co/3nG9wffG6A
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 17, 2026
Where does Starship launch in Texas? What to know about Starbase
As it has since its maiden launch in April 2023, Starship will once again get off the ground from SpaceX's Starbase company town and headquarters in Texas. Starbase is located close to he U.S.-Mexico border near the well-known Boca Chica Beach, about 180 miles south of Corpus Christi.
In May 2025, Texas voters in Cameron County – most of whom are SpaceX employees – approved a measure to officially recognize the company's headquarters as its own town, complete with a mayor and city commissioners.
Where in Texas can you watch Starship launch? What to know about South Padre Island
While Starbase isn't open to outsiders for launch-viewing, a nearby location has become a famous spot for Texans and space enthusiasts to watch Starship get off the ground.
Isla Blanca Park, 33174 State Park Road 100, is located on the southernmost tip of the resort town South Padre Island on the southern Texas coast. With more than a mile of beaches, the park reliably attracts sizable crowds anytime Starship is due for its latest flight test.
The city of Starbase also recommends the nearby city of Port Isabel to the north as a place to view SpaceX launches.
What is Starship?
Starship is the massive rocket that SpaceX, the commercial company founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been testing since April 2023. Standing at 407 feet tall when fully stacked, the new iteration of Starship – known as Version 3, or V3 – is considered the largest and most powerful rocket in the world.
SpaceX is developing the rocket to be a fully reusable transportation system that can carry huge satellites and other payloads to space, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions.
Musk's vision has long been for Starship to be an interplanetary vehicle that takes humans to Mars, where they can establish a self-sustaining colony. While the world's richest man has indicated that SpaceX will focus on building a lunar city first, the company has already announced a human-led expedition to Mars' orbit – though it has not set a target date.
SpaceX is also under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander configuration of its Starship – known as the Human Landing System – to ferry astronauts to the moon under the U.S. space agency's Artemis program.
See photos of Starship rocket launches
What is SpaceX planning for Starship's 14th flight test?
If all goes to plan, flight 14 could become the first time Starship reaches orbit.
Once again, the rocket's lower-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, is due to land in the Gulf of Mexico – renamed in the U.S. under executive order as the Gulf of America – after providing the initial burst of thrust to get the upper-stage off the ground. SpaceX then expects Starship's upper-stage to reach an altitude of more than 170 miles high, where it could complete six orbits of Earth during a mission that could last up to 10 hours.
SpaceX then plans for the upper-stage to make a water landing in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Chile.
Flight 14 could also mark the first time that SpaceX's Starship deploys 26 operational third-generation Starlink satellites following a series of test deployments on previous missions.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: SpaceX's Starship could make history. Where you can watch launch in Texas
