Starship reaches low-Earth orbit for first time on 14th flight
The milestone came despite the loss of one Raptor engine, shortening the mission to about three hours in orbit.
SpaceX’s Starship reached low-Earth orbit for the first time on its 14th flight, a milestone reported by Engadget. The spacecraft continued after losing one of its six Raptor engines.
The engine loss changed the mission plan. SpaceX had intended Starship to complete six orbits over nearly 10 hours; instead, it spent about three hours in orbit before returning to Earth.
During the flight, Starship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. SpaceX said its Starlink team had made contact with all 26, which are intended to help improve internet speeds for customers.
Earlier Starship flights carried V3 satellites into suborbital space to test whether they could connect with the existing Starlink constellation. This mission put the satellites into orbit.
The Super Heavy booster landed in the Gulf of Mexico as part of a reusability test. Engadget reported that it was expected to be retrieved, but did not confirm a recovery.
