SpaceX's Starship makes orbital debut deploying Starlinks before early ending
SPCX•Starship reached orbit for the first time on its 14th flight and deployed 26 Starlink satellites. An engine issue shortened the planned 10-hour mission to three hours.
1. First orbital flight
SpaceX's uncrewed Starship reached orbit despite one of its three main engines shutting down prematurely. The vehicle deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites at an altitude of roughly 269 km before the mission ended about seven hours earlier than planned.
2. Mission and payload
The Super Heavy booster returned to Gulf waters in an engine-controlled splashdown, though some of its engines stopped working during descent, SpaceX said. The mission was also to include six Earth orbits and a controlled deorbit, but the engine issue shortened the flight.
3. Starship plans
The flight was Starship's first orbital payload mission after 13 previous test flights limited to suborbital space. SpaceX says the V3 satellites can handle 10 times more data than V2 mini-satellites; Elon Musk wants to launch them in batches of 60 once Starship enters routine operation.
