--- title: "SpaceX Reportedly Wants to Fly First Starship to Orbit as Soon as July" description: "According to NasaSpaceFlight, SpaceX may attempt to launch the SN11 Starship as early as July. Learn more about SpaceX launch dates." date: "2021-03-15" modified: "2021-03-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-fly-first-starship-orbit-july" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Reportedly Wants to Fly First Starship to Orbit as Soon as July ![According to information obtained by NASASpaceFlight, SpaceX may attempt to send a Starship prototype all the way to space as soon as July.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Ambitious Targets According to information obtained by *NASASpaceFlight*, SpaceX may attempt to send a Starship prototype all the way to space as soon as July. The information, which has yet to be verified, claims that SpaceX is hoping to send booster "Super Heavy BN3 and Starship SN20" to space, "with a goal to get to orbit by July 1." ## Going Orbital The news comes after the company's latest prototype, called SN11, was [rolled out to the launch pad]() last week. According to [recent reports](), SN11 will attempt to complete the company's fourth high-altitude test involving a full-scale prototype of its Mars-bound Starship rocket. After SN11, SpaceX will likely attempt to launch SN15, 16, and 17, meanwhile testing Super Heavy rocket booster prototypes BN1 and BN2, as [*NASASpaceflight* reports](). ## Getting Serious So far, the space company has flown three full-scale prototypes to an altitude of roughly ten kilometers. While the three massive rockets were able to ascend and descend using a "bellyflop" maneuver, none of them fully stuck the landing — or at least survive the minutes following it, as was [the case for SN10 last month](). Needless to say, July 1 is an extremely ambitious deadline and SpaceX is likely aware of that. As such, the date is likely more aspirational than absolute — but it does signify that SpaceX is serious about putting the 165 foot spacecraft into space as soon as humanly possible. **READ MORE:** [Starship SN11 prepares to fly as SpaceX pushes for Orbital flight this summer]() \[*NASASpaceflight*\] **More on Starships:** *[SpaceX Just Rolled Its Next Starship Prototype Onto the Launchpad]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()