5 minBusiness
SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit for First Time, Then Cuts Flight Short
SpaceX's Starship reached orbit for the first time and deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites, but the company ended the flight after three hours instead of the planned 10, citing caution ahead of future landing attempts.
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket into orbit for the first time, successfully deploying 26 of the most advanced Starlink satellites yet, but the company cut the flight short after three hours rather than the planned 10-hour mission. The spacecraft blasted off from Starbase, Texas, and was intended to circle the globe six times before splashing down in the Pacific near Chile. Instead, flight controllers brought it back after just a couple of laps, with the vehicle reentering over the Pacific and splashing down north of Hawaii.
The flight nearly ended before it began. One of Starship's engines shut down too soon during ascent, and for several tense minutes it was unclear whether the spacecraft would reach orbit. Mission Control ultimately confirmed success, announcing «Starship is orbital» to cheers from the SpaceX crowd at the launch site. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on reaching orbit and for «managing every step in a safe, responsible and especially inspirational way.»
Once in orbit, Starship released 26 next-generation Starlink satellites one by one, adding to the roughly 11,000 older models already providing internet service. The deployment drew further cheers from onlookers. Shortly afterward, SpaceX decided to end the mission early. No reason was provided for the shortened flight.
The decision reflects the company's cautious approach as it works toward fully reusable orbital flight. The first-stage booster was never intended to return to the launch site, instead dropping into the Gulf of Mexico minutes after liftoff. SpaceX wants to verify that everything works before attempting to fly Starship back to Starbase, where giant mechanical arms would catch the hovering spacecraft. Founder Elon Musk said at a business summit earlier this month that if the vehicle broke apart over land and rained debris on people, «our popularity would diminish very rapidly.» He added, «That's why we're being extremely cautious here.»
Monday's launch was Starship's 14th full-scale test flight from southern Texas in three years. Earlier attempts never ventured beyond the Indian Ocean, often ending in fiery crashes after briefly skimming space. This time, SpaceX aimed for a much longer journey at an altitude of 170 miles (275 kilometers), traveling at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph). While the spacecraft achieved the proper orbit, controllers opted to play it safe and bring it back several hours sooner.
Depending on findings from the orbital debut, the next Starship could attempt a return to the launch pad, where mechanical arms would catch it. Musk gives the catch even or slightly better odds. If successful, SpaceX would refly the spacecraft by the end of the year or early next year. The 407-foot (124-meter) rocket was designed from the start to be fully reusable, a key factor in lowering launch costs. SpaceX salvaged the last Starship from the Indian Ocean in July, and engineers modified the newly launched vehicle's heat shield based on hands-on inspections of the recovered craft, which is being towed back to Starbase.
SpaceX is pressing hard to certify Starship for orbital flight, a vital step toward moon and Mars travel. NASA's Artemis III mission is coming up as soon as next summer, a triple-launch docking exercise in orbit around Earth involving an Orion capsule full of astronauts and competing lunar landers. Jeff Bezos' Blue Moon will launch first, followed by Orion, which will close in for a linkup, and then Musk's Starship for a docking with Orion once Blue Moon is released. The next mission, Artemis IV, slated for no sooner than 2028, would have astronauts landing on the moon in either Blue Moon or Starship, whichever is ready first. Subsequent moonshots will alternate between the two billionaires' landers.
Musk originally developed Starship for Mars, intending to launch scores of them carrying the red planet's first settlers. For now, he plans to focus on the moon and use Starship to haul satellites into orbit by the truckload, phasing out the company's frailer Falcon 9 rocket within several years. A second Starship launch site is nearing completion at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, and a third is planned for Louisiana.
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