STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship successfully entered Earth orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026, during its 14th full-scale flight test. The vehicle was launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas atop a Super Heavy booster. Despite losing one of its primary Raptor engines during ascent, Starship managed to reach orbit and subsequently deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, marking the spacecraft’s inaugural orbital payload deployment.
The engine cut out prematurely after Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster. Flight controllers initially assessed whether the spacecraft had sufficient capability to continue its mission safely. Engineers confirmed that the remaining engines provided enough redundancy, allowing Starship to complete its planned orbital insertion. Unlike previous Starship tests that followed suborbital paths, Flight 14 was the first to place the spacecraft into a sustained Earth orbit.
Originally, SpaceX aimed for a mission lasting nearly 10 hours, encompassing around six orbits around Earth. The plan also included a controlled deorbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, due to the engine issue, the company shortened the mission, completing it in approximately three hours. Before beginning its return, Starship successfully released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at an altitude of about 270 kilometers.
Starship executes first orbital satellite deployment
This deployment marked the first occasion where Starship carried operational satellites into orbit. The V3 satellites are a newer generation of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation, which require the increased payload capacity that Starship offers. SpaceX confirmed that all 26 satellites separated from the vehicle during the orbital phase. The event also proved Starship’s capability to carry and release a substantial satellite payload after reaching its designated orbit.
Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster followed a separate return trajectory. It attempted to land over the Gulf of Mexico with its planned burn, but several engines malfunctioned during descent. As a result, the booster 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 initial plan to splash down west of Chile.
Mission concludes after a shortened three-hour flight
Starship finished its controlled descent and arrived in the Pacific after roughly three hours of flight time. After reaching the ocean, the vehicle tipped over, and flames became visible around it. SpaceX did not intend to recover either Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water after this test. Despite the engine malfunction and the reduced mission duration, the flight achieved its primary objectives: first orbital insertion and deployment of the first operational satellite payload.
NASA maintains a direct link to Starship through its Artemis lunar program. The agency is collaborating with SpaceX on a modified Starship Human Landing System for Artemis III and Artemis IV missions, designed to ferry astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. An uncrewed lunar demonstration is required before Starship can carry crew under the program. Flight 14 was solely an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not involve crewed operations.