Sep 18, 2026 · 13 min · 12 segments
Starship has a new launch date. Mars has turned purple. And Hubble has found a galaxy whose centre appears to be rotating in a completely different direction from the rest. This week on *Time Across…
That date has now moved to September 28.
And this flight matters because it is expected to go further than the shorter test trajectories used on previous flights.
The plan is for Starship to spend many hours in flight before returning over the Pacific Ocean.
Think about that for a moment.
A rocket launches in the morning.
Then, while people on Earth go to school, work, eat lunch, and check their phones, the spacecraft keeps racing around our planet.
Again.
And again.
And again.
But the first lesson of this story is not speed.
It is patience.
Rocket schedules move Weather changes Hardware needs checking Launch conditions have to be right A launch date is not a promise from the universe.
It is a plan made by people who still have to obey physics.
It did it on only its second launch attempt.
And suddenly a part of the launch market that looked rather thin has another real competitor.
Why does that matter? Because not every satellite can simply wait for an empty seat on a giant rocket.
Some spacecraft need to reach a very specific orbit.
Satellite servicing missions are a good example.
If your job is to rendezvous with a particular satellite, you cannot be dropped somewhere vaguely nearby and hope for the best.
You need the correct altitude, the correct inclination, the correct timing.
Orbit is not just a place.
That date has now moved to September 28.
And this flight matters because it is expected to go further than the shorter test trajectories used on previous flights.
The plan is for Starship to spend many hours in flight before returning over the Pacific Ocean.
Think about that for a moment.
A rocket launches in the morning.
Then, while people on Earth go to school, work, eat lunch, and check their phones, the spacecraft keeps racing around our planet.
Again.
And again.
And again.
But the first lesson of this story is not speed.
It is patience.
Rocket schedules move Weather changes Hardware needs checking Launch conditions have to be right A launch date is not a promise from the universe.
It is a plan made by people who still have to obey physics.
It did it on only its second launch attempt.
And suddenly a part of the launch market that looked rather thin has another real competitor.
Why does that matter? Because not every satellite can simply wait for an empty seat on a giant rocket.
Some spacecraft need to reach a very specific orbit.
Satellite servicing missions are a good example.
If your job is to rendezvous with a particular satellite, you cannot be dropped somewhere vaguely nearby and hope for the best.
You need the correct altitude, the correct inclination, the correct timing.
Orbit is not just a place.
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