SpaceX's supersized Starship launches into orbit for the first time but flight ends early

SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time Monday and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlink satellites yet, but cut the flight short to ensure safety.The spacecraft reentered over the Pacific and splashed down north of Hawaii three hours after blasting off from Texas. The company had been aiming for a 10-hour flight, spanning six full laps around Earth, to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program.Starship tipped over and erupted in flames upon splashdown, a dramatic end to the mission.Founder Elon Musk's Starship almost didn't make it to orbit when one of its engines shut down prematurely. But with everything else working well and the bad engine no longer needed, flight controllers decided, after several tense minutes, to proceed as planned.“Starship is orbital,” Mission Control announced to cheers.NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on reaching orbit and “managing every step in a safe, responsible and especially inspirational way.”Rocket carries 26 of Musk's most advanced Starlink satellitesMusk’s showpiece rocket — the biggest and most powerful ever built — carried 26 of the latest Starlinks to join the 11,000 older models already providing internet service.

They popped out of the spacecraft one by one, drawing more cheers from the SpaceX crowd at the Starbase launch site.The decision to end the flight early came soon afterward. SpaceX said hours later in an online update that the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution” because of the early engine trouble.It was Starship’s 14th full-scale launch from Texas’ southern tip in three years. Earlier test flights ventured no farther than the Indian Ocean halfway around the world, often crashing in flames and briefly skimming space.This time, the intent was for SpaceX to circle the globe from an altitude of 170 miles (275 kilometers) — not just once but six times over almost 10 hours, ending with a Pacific splashdown near Chile.

While Starship achieved the proper orbit, zipping along at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph), flight controllers opted to play it safe and bring it back several hours sooner, after just a couple of laps.The first-stage booster was never meant to return to the Starbase launch site either, dropping instead into the Gulf of Mexico within minutes of the morning liftoff.SpaceX wants to ensure that everything works before flyin… Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket has completed its first orbit of Earth, despite losing one of its engines after the flight began. It is now beginning its journey back to Earth much earlier than originally planned.

SpaceX has launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time and successfully delivered the newest and most advanced Starlinks yet. But flight controllers brought the spacecraft back to Earth early Monday instead of making six full laps around Earth as originally planned.