SpaceX’s Starship reaches orbit for the first time, deploys Starlink satellites

SpaceX's Starship V3 rocket takes off from the launchpad during its 14th flight test on South Padre Island, Texas. (EPA Images pic)STARBASE: SpaceX's next-generation Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time on Monday despite having one of its engines down, overcoming this hitch mid-flight to deploy the first batch of new Starlink satellites as Elon Musk's company plans to put the vehicle into routine use starting later this year.The uncrewed 40-story-tall vehicle, consisting of a Super Heavy booster rocket topped by the main upper-stage Starship vessel, thundered off its launch pad from SpaceX's Starbase complex along the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville.The Super Heavy booster lofted the Starship upper stage into space before returning itself to Gulf waters for an engine-controlled splashdown, following hard landings for the booster on two previous missions.Upon reaching space, one of Starship's three main engines shut down earlier than planned, a development that led SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot to announce on the company's live stream of the mission that the craft would be unable to reach orbit."The team has made the call not to commit to orbit," Huot said.However, Huot reversed course minutes later after an update from engineers confirmed that the craft could still attempt an engine firing that would boost it into orbit, which Starship successfully did minutes later.Once in orbit, Starship began deploying 26 next-generation Starlink satellites one by one at a planned altitude of roughly 269km.Starship, built to launch SpaceX's Starlink satellites more frequently and carry future Nasa missions to the moon, was expected to complete six Earth orbits during a 10-hour voyage — its longest yet — before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.Reaching orbit, a primary benchmark for any new rocket designed to deliver payloads to space, has been a long-delayed feat for Starship, which Musk once predicted would be achieved in 2022, to be followed by satellite deployments in 2023.Since 2023, however, all 13 of Starship's previous test flights have been limited to suborbital space, despite a nearly decade-long development campaign that has cost SpaceX more than US$15 billion to date. Musk has said he envisions ultimately flying hundreds or thousands of Starships a year, a launch pace unprecedented in the space industry.Test mission with real payload M…

SpaceX's next-generation Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time on Monday despite having one of its engines down, overcoming this hitch mid-flight to deploy the first batch of new Starlink satellites as Elon Musk's company plans to put the vehicle into routine use starting later this year. The uncrewed 40-story-tall vehicle, ​consisting of a Super Heavy booster rocket topped by the main upper-stage Starship vessel, thundered off its launch pad from SpaceX's Starbase complex along the Gulf of ‌Mexico near Brownsville. The Super Heavy booster lofted the Starship upper stage into space before returning itself to Gulf waters for an engine-controlled splashdown, following hard landings for the booster on two previous missions.

Upon reaching space, one of Starship's three main engines shut down earlier than planned, a development that led SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot to announce on the company's live stream of the mission that the craft would be unable to reach orbit. "The team has made the call ​not to commit to orbit," Huot said. But Huot reversed course minutes later after an update from engineers confirmed that the craft could still attempt an engine firing that would ​boost it into orbit, which Starship successfully did minutes later.

Once in orbit, Starship began deploying 26 next-generation Starlink satellites one by one at a planned ⁠altitude of roughly 269 km (161 miles). Starship, built to launch SpaceX's Starlink satellites more frequently and carry future NASA missions to the moon, was expected to complete six Earth orbits during a 10-hour voyage — ​its longest yet — before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. Reaching orbit, a primary benchmark for any new rocket designed to deliver payloads to space, has been a long-delayed feat for Starship, ​which Musk once predicted would be achieved in 2022, to be followed by satellite deployments in 2023.

Test mission with real payload Monday's voyage technically counts ​as the 14th test fli…