Starfighters Plans December 2026 F-104 Captive-Carry Test for Starlaunch 1

Starfighters Space plans a December 2026 captive-carry flight of Starlaunch 1 on an F-104. The vehicle is expected to remain attached to the aircraft throughout the flight. The test is intended to assess the vehicle and its integration with the F-104, rather than release it.

Starfighters Space plans to fly Starlaunch 1 between Kennedy Space Center and Cecil Spaceport during a December 2026 captive-carry test.

What has been confirmed

These details come from a report by The Aviationist and are classified as likely, not officially confirmed. The report says Starfighters announced on October 13, 2026, that it had finalized the Starlaunch 1 airframe design and ordered flight hardware from Robby Moto Engineering, with delivery expected in November. It identifies the company's Kennedy Space Center hangar as the planned assembly and aircraft-interface testing site, and a route between Kennedy Space Center and Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville as the expected test route.

Why it matters

A captive-carry flight would let the company evaluate how the development vehicle fits and operates with its F-104 carrier aircraft before any planned release test. That step connects aircraft integration work with Starlaunch 1's intended role in short-duration microgravity missions.

FlyMarshall context

Air-launch programs use a carrier aircraft to take a vehicle aloft before a later release or flight phase. Starfighters describes Starlaunch 1 as a suborbital development vehicle intended to support short-duration microgravity missions and inform future air-launch concepts. The report says Starlaunch 2 is intended for low Earth orbit.

What happens next

The reported development sequence calls for a captive-carry test, then a drop test over the Atlantic, followed by a demonstration of an integrated propulsion system. Starfighters also has a reported September 2026 memorandum of understanding with Vaya Defense & Space that includes assessing hybrid propulsion for Starlaunch. These plans and dates have not been officially confirmed in the fact set.