N環球 
SpaceX Starship reaches orbit for the first time, deploys 26 Starlink satellites
SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on its 14th test flight and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, despite an early engine shutdown.
Why it matters
Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, on Monday, September 28, for its 14th test flight. All 13 previous flights since 2023 had stayed on suborbital trajectories — this was the first to achieve orbit.
Once in orbit at about 171 miles (275 km) altitude, the spacecraft deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, the first orbital satellite deployment ever by Starship. SpaceX said it made contact with all 26. The V3 satellites are too large for Falcon 9 and handle about 10 times more data than V2 Mini models.
Full report
The flight was not without drama. One of the Ship's six Raptor engines shut down early during ascent, and SpaceX briefly told webcast viewers the orbit attempt was off. Engineers reversed course, and a single Raptor fired for 19 seconds — adding about 204 mph — to circularize the orbit. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X: "First orbital flight of Starship successful!"
The Super Heavy booster separated and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, though SpaceX said several of its engines stopped working during descent. The mission, originally planned for about 10 hours, was shortened to roughly three hours after the engine problem, ending with a controlled splashdown north of Hawaii.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX. NASA has selected a Starship variant as the human landing system for Artemis lunar missions, and SpaceX says the vehicle is key to scaling the Starlink network, with each future flight able to carry about 60 V3 satellites.
💬 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!