Starship | Starlink Group 31-1 (Starship Flight 14) — what you saw in the sky & launch recap

14th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. 3rd flight of Starship V3 and the first Starship flight to deploy satellites (a group of Starlink satellites known as Starlink Group 31-1) into stable Low Earth Orbit. The ship is expected to fly at an altitude approximately 275 km above Earth and complete approximately 6 orbits around the planet for nearly 10 hours, with splashdown targeted in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. The booster’s primary test objective on Flight 14 will be executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf. Starship will deliver 26 Starlink V3 satellites to orbit for the first time, which aim to greatly expand the network's capacity and user speeds. Each Starlink V3 satellite will add 1 Tbps of capacity to the constellation.

Rocket

Starship V3

Provider

SpaceX

Launch site

SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Status

Launch Successful

Liftoff time

• Sep 28, 2026, 12:48 PM UTC
• Sep 28, 2026, 8:48 AM Eastern
• Sep 28, 2026, 5:48 AM Pacific

What you saw

If you spotted a bright streak or contrail in the sky from Port Isabel, TX · South Padre Island, TX · Laguna Vista, TX or nearby, this launch is very likely what it was.

• Which way it headed: from Port Isabel, TX it first appeared low in the south-southeast sky, then climbed toward the east-southeast as it flew downrange.
• How long it was visible: from Port Isabel, TX, it rose into view about 5 seconds after liftoff and reached its highest point (roughly 38° above the horizon) around T+1m 30s; most viewers had it in sight for a few minutes.
• Daytime launch: In daylight, look for a bright rising contrail and the rocket itself as a moving point of light.

Visibility map: how far away could you see it?

The shaded zones show where Starship V3 was expected to be visible, following its modeled east flight path rather than a simple circle around the pad — a fair-or-better view reached roughly 1950 miles out over land. Within about 89 miles the rocket clears the horizon in the first half-minute; by T+90s it is line-of-sight from roughly 305 miles. City dots are colored by the expected view quality; the table below has the direction to look from each.

Which cities could see this launch?

Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon at the time of liftoff. The 10 most likely first:

Where to look

A rocket lifts off below the horizon for distant viewers, then climbs into view as it gains altitude and flies downrange. Closer to the pad you'll see it within seconds; a few hundred miles away it can take three to six minutes to rise over the horizon. Find an open view in the direction shown for your city and start watching at liftoff.

Watch the live webcast Official launch details More from SpaceX ↗

Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated November 7, 2026.