STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship successfully entered Earth’s orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026, marking its 14th full-scale test flight. The spacecraft launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas atop a Super Heavy booster. Despite losing one of its main Raptor engines during ascent, Starship reached orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, marking the spacecraft’s initial orbital payload deployment.
The premature engine shutdown occurred after Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster. Flight controllers initially assessed whether the spacecraft had sufficient capability to proceed safely. Engineers confirmed enough system redundancy, allowing the remaining engines to complete the planned orbital insertion. Prior test flights of Starship had only followed suborbital paths, making Flight 14 the first to place the vehicle into a sustained Earth orbit.
Originally, SpaceX aimed for a mission lasting nearly 10 hours and completing around six orbits around Earth. The plan included a controlled deorbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, after the engine issue, the mission duration was shortened to approximately three hours. Despite the reduced timeline, Starship successfully released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at an altitude of about 270 kilometers before initiating its return.
Starship’s First Deployment of Operational Satellites in Orbit
This mission marked the first time Starship carried operational satellites into orbit, with the deployment of the V3 spacecraft, representing a newer generation of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites. The increased payload capacity of Starship made this possible. SpaceX verified that all 26 satellites separated from the vehicle during the orbital phase. The event also demonstrated Starship’s capability to carry and release a significant satellite payload after reaching its designated orbit.
Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster followed a separate return trajectory. During its descent, it attempted its planned landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico, but several engines did not function as intended. The booster ultimately made a hard splashdown in the Gulf. Meanwhile, Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere and descended toward the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii, deviating from the original splashdown zone west of Chile.
Mission Concludes After Shortened Three-Hour Flight
Starship completed its controlled descent and reached the Pacific after roughly three hours in flight. Upon contact with the ocean, the spacecraft tipped over, with flames visible around the vehicle. SpaceX did not intend to recover Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water following this test. The flight’s success was marked by achieving its initial orbital insertion and deploying its first operational satellite payload, despite the engine malfunction and shortened duration.
NASA maintains a direct link to Starship through its Artemis lunar program. The agency collaborates with SpaceX on a modified Starship Human Landing System designed for Artemis III and Artemis IV missions. This lunar variant will transport astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. NASA requires an uncrewed lunar demonstration before Starship begins crewed missions under the program. Flight 14 remained an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not carry a crew.