Starbase, Texas, September 28: SpaceX’s Starship achieved a major milestone on Monday by reaching Earth orbit for the first time during its 14th test flight. The massive rocket lifted off from the company’s Starbase facility in Texas and successfully deployed 26 nextgeneration Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.
The mission faced an unexpected setback when one of Starship’s engines shut down prematurely during the flight. However, the spacecraft continued operating and completed its orbital insertion, allowing SpaceX to proceed with the satellite deployment despite the engine issue.
Starship was designed to fly at an altitude of around 275 kilometres and was initially expected to remain in space for nearly 10 hours, completing about six orbits of Earth. However, SpaceX ended the mission several hours earlier than planned. The spacecraft subsequently re-entered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii.
The 26 Starlink V3 satellites marked the first operational payload deployment by Starship. The mission therefore represents an important test of SpaceX’s plan to use the vehicle for future large-scale satellite launches.
Standing about 124 metres tall, Starship is being developed as a fully reusable launch system. SpaceX intends to use the vehicle for increasingly ambitious missions, including future human and cargo flights to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars.
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