SpaceX launched its Starship rocket into orbit for the first time Monday, marking a major milestone for the company's largest and most powerful spacecraft. The launch occurred at 7:48 a.m. central time from SpaceX's Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico coast.
The 14th test flight of Starship represented the first attempt to place the vehicle into orbit around Earth. The spacecraft, standing as tall as a 40-story building and composed of the Super Heavy booster rocket and the Starship upper stage, lifted off with significant noise from the launch pad.
During the ascent, one of Starship's engines shut down prematurely. Flight controllers faced uncertainty about whether the vehicle could continue to orbit with the engine loss. After several tense minutes, they determined that the remaining engines were performing well enough to proceed with the mission as planned. SpaceX confirmed the successful orbital insertion, with Mission Control announcing "Starship is orbital" to cheers from the team.
The spacecraft carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites to low Earth orbit. These represent the latest and most advanced models in the Starlink constellation, joining approximately 11,000 older satellites already in orbit providing internet service. This marked the first time SpaceX used Starship to deploy Starlink satellites into orbit.
Following orbital insertion, Starship was scheduled to complete six full laps around Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 10 hours after launch. The mission serves as a significant test of SpaceX's capabilities and its readiness to support NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and eventually reach Mars.
The earlier 13 test flights of Starship had not attempted orbital missions. Those flights ventured no farther than the Indian Ocean halfway around the world, with many ending in crashes. Some briefly reached space but did not achieve sustained orbit. SpaceX had previously cited safety considerations for avoiding orbital attempts until this flight.