SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft has reached Earth orbit for the first time in its history. The successful mission was the system’s 14th test flight, conducted on 28 September from the Starbase launch site in Texas, El.kz reports.
During ascent, one of the six Raptor engines on the upper stage shut down. Despite the malfunction, SpaceX specialists decided to proceed with the flight. Approximately 25 minutes after liftoff, Starship performed the manoeuvre required to enter orbit. The spacecraft carried 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, marking the first time Starship had deployed a payload into an operational orbit. The satellites were successfully deployed and established communications with ground stations.
SpaceX had initially planned an approximately 10-hour mission involving around six orbits of Earth. However, following the engine failure, the mission was shortened for safety reasons. Starship remained in space for approximately three hours before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the northern Pacific Ocean.
This was Starship’s 14th flight. All previous test flights had followed suborbital trajectories, making the current mission the spacecraft’s first full orbital flight.
In the future, NASA plans to use a modified version of Starship as part of its Artemis lunar programme. For missions to the Moon, the spacecraft will require in-orbit refuelling using specialised tanker vehicles. However, Starship’s orbital refuelling technology has not yet been demonstrated.
