SpaceX conducted the 14th test flight of the Starship rocket, which successfully reached Earth's orbit for the first time. The launch took place at the Starbase facility in Texas at 8:49 local time. During the ascent, one of the 33 Raptor 3 engines on the Super Heavy booster shut down 75 seconds into the flight, but the mission continued.
The Ship 41 upper stage separated from the booster 2 minutes and 34 seconds after liftoff using the hot-staging method. The Super Heavy booster performed a return maneuver and descended vertically into the Gulf of Mexico, where it exploded upon water impact as planned.
During the upper stage's acceleration phase, another Raptor 3 engine shut down prematurely. Despite this, the ship compensated for the thrust loss. At an altitude of approximately 275 km, the vessel executed its first orbital insertion maneuver using a single Raptor 3 engine to achieve a near-circular orbit.
Once in orbit, the Starship began its primary mission objective of deploying 26 upgraded Starlink V3 satellites. These units are intended to serve as the foundation for the next generation of the SpaceX satellite internet network.
