After 13 previous flights failed to achieve the milestone, Elon Musk’s giant Starship has finally crossed into orbit , and immediately put 26 satellites into space.
SpaceX’s massive Starship spacecraft has reached Earth orbit for the first time, marking a major milestone for Elon Musk’s company after 13 previous integrated Starship Super Heavy flights followed suborbital trajectories.
The 14th test flight lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas. The mission was designed to demonstrate Starship’s ability to reach orbit and deploy the company’s latest generation of Starlink satellites.
During the flight, Starship successfully carried out its orbital insertion and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The satellites are intended to expand SpaceX’s Starlink network and provide greater capacity than the smaller V2 Mini spacecraft currently used in the constellation.
The achievement came despite an unexpected engine shutdown during the flight. SpaceX continued with the orbital attempt, allowing Starship to reach orbit before completing the planned mission sequence.
The mission nevertheless ended earlier than originally planned, with Starship making a controlled, fiery touchdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The successful orbital flight is significant for SpaceX because Starship is being developed as a fully reusable heavy lift launch system capable of carrying much larger payloads than the company’s existing rockets.
The deployment of the Starlink V3 satellites also gives SpaceX an opportunity to test the spacecraft in an operational role rather than simply demonstrating its flight capabilities.
The company has ambitious plans for Starship, including using the vehicle to deploy larger numbers of Starlink satellites and eventually support missions beyond Earth’s orbit.
