Starship reaches orbit for the first time and deploys 26 Starlink V3 satellites
SpaceX says Starship's 14th flight was its first orbital mission and the first to deliver meaningful payload, releasing 26 Starlink V3 satellites before a controlled splashdown in the Pacific.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
SpaceX's Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas, at 7:48 a.m. CT on September 28 on its 14th flight, the company's first attempt to reach orbit. SpaceX says it was the first orbital Starship flight and the first to deliver meaningful payload to orbit.
After a brief coast, Starship deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites it carried. SpaceX says it made contact with every satellite over laser links, ground stations and user terminals, and that the satellites will run checkouts and raise their orbits before serving customers.
Because of an engine issue during ascent, the flight team chose to limit time on orbit. Starship relit one Raptor engine for its first-ever deorbit burn, reentered, and relit all three sea-level engines for a landing burn and flip before splashing down on target in the northern Pacific Ocean.