SpaceX's Starship Reaches Low-Earth Orbit for the First Time
SpaceX's Starship reached low-Earth orbit for the first time during its 14th test flight, also deploying 26 new Starlink V3 satellites. An engine issue mid-flight forced the mission to be shortened.
SpaceX carried out its 14th Starship test flight early Monday morning, with the massive rocket, powered by its Super Heavy booster, reaching low-Earth orbit for the first time.
The mission hit a snag when one of the vehicle's six Raptor engines went offline during flight. Despite this, SpaceX chose to continue the mission and ultimately reached orbit successfully, though with some compromises to the original plan.
Shortened time in orbit
SpaceX had originally planned for Starship to circle Earth six times over roughly 10 hours. With one engine down, the plan was revised so the spacecraft spent only about three hours in orbit before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
Deploying new Starlink satellites
As part of the mission, SpaceX deployed 26 of its latest-generation Starlink V3 satellites into orbit. The company said its Starlink team has established contact with all 26 newly deployed satellites, which will eventually help improve internet speeds for customers.
Unlike previous Starship flights, where V3 satellites only reached suborbital space as a test of their ability to connect with the existing Starlink constellation, this mission saw the satellites actually placed into orbit.
Booster recovery test
The flight also served as a reusability test for the Super Heavy booster. After providing the boost needed to send Starship on its way, the booster landed in the Gulf of Mexico, where it will later be retrieved — this time without the launch tower's "chopsticks" system used in earlier demonstrations.
