Updated September 28, 2026, 7:42 p.m. Eastern.
SpaceX’s Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time Monday and deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, clearing a milestone the company had pursued through 13 earlier full-scale test flights.
The uncrewed Flight 14 lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase complex in South Texas at 8:46 a.m. Eastern. The 407-foot rocket entered its intended orbit despite an engine shutting down earlier than planned, according to independent reports from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Updated September 28, 2026, 7:42 p.m. Eastern: Starship returned through the atmosphere and came down in the Pacific north of Hawaii about three hours after launch, according to updated Associated Press reporting. After touching the water, the vehicle fell onto its side and caught fire. Controllers had shortened the planned six-orbit, roughly 10-hour flight after the satellite deployment.
Why the orbital flight matters
Reaching orbit is a basic but demanding test for any launch system intended to carry operational payloads. Starship’s earlier integrated flights remained suborbital, even as SpaceX tested stage separation, reentry, engine relighting and controlled splashdowns.
Monday’s mission showed that the newest Starship configuration could accelerate to orbital velocity and release working payloads. The 26 Starlink satellites were described as the company’s most advanced models and are intended to join its existing broadband constellation.
The result is also important beyond SpaceX’s commercial satellite business. NASA selected a version of Starship as one of the lunar landers for its Artemis program, and future missions will require capabilities that Monday’s test did not attempt, including orbital refueling, repeated reuse and operations involving astronauts.
SpaceX ultimately intends both Starship and its Super Heavy booster to be rapidly reusable. For Flight 14, however, neither vehicle was scheduled to return to the launch site. The booster was directed into the Gulf of Mexico, while the spacecraft was slated for a controlled ocean splashdown.
A milestone, not a completed development program
The orbital achievement does not mean Starship is ready for routine passenger or lunar operations. The premature engine shutdown and decision to curtail the flight will be central to SpaceX’s review of the mission.
Engineers also must demonstrate reliable heat-shield performance, controlled atmospheric reentry, rapid turnaround, propellant transfer between vehicles in orbit and safe recovery near launch facilities. Each capability affects whether Starship can perform the high-frequency, fully reusable operations envisioned by SpaceX.
The next test could attempt to return the spacecraft to Starbase for a capture by the launch tower’s mechanical arms, depending on the findings from Flight 14. SpaceX has already used tower arms to catch Super Heavy boosters, but recovering the larger spacecraft over land presents additional safety challenges.
Flight 14 establishes the first orbital and operational-payload milestone for the Starship system. The shortened flight and its ending leave further questions about the vehicle’s performance to be addressed before subsequent tests.
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