STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026, during its 14th full-scale flight test. The spacecraft launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas atop a Super Heavy booster. Starship entered orbit despite losing one of its main Raptor engines during ascent. It then deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, completing the spacecraft’s first orbital payload deployment.
The engine shut down prematurely after Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster. Flight controllers initially evaluated whether the spacecraft had enough capability to continue safely. The remaining engines carried Starship through its planned orbital insertion after engineers confirmed sufficient system redundancy. Previous Starship test flights had followed suborbital trajectories, making Flight 14 the first mission to place the spacecraft into a sustained Earth orbit.
SpaceX originally planned a mission lasting nearly 10 hours and covering about six orbits around Earth. The flight plan also called for a controlled deorbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. The company shortened the mission after the engine problem and completed the flight in roughly three hours. Starship still released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at an altitude of about 270 kilometers before beginning its return.
Starship completes first orbital satellite deployment
The Starlink deployment marked the first time Starship carried operational satellites into orbit. The V3 spacecraft represent a newer generation of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites and require the greater payload capacity available on Starship. SpaceX confirmed that all 26 satellites separated from the vehicle during the orbital phase. The deployment also demonstrated Starship’s ability to carry and release a large satellite payload after reaching its intended orbital environment.
The Super Heavy booster followed a separate return profile after stage separation. It attempted its planned landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico, but several engines did not operate as intended during descent. The booster completed a hard splashdown in the Gulf. Starship later reentered Earth’s atmosphere and descended toward the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii, rather than the originally planned splashdown area west of Chile.
Flight ends after shortened three-hour mission
Starship completed its controlled descent and reached the Pacific after approximately three hours in flight. The spacecraft tipped over after reaching the ocean and flames became visible around the vehicle. SpaceX did not plan to recover either Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water after this test. The flight therefore concluded after achieving its first orbital insertion and delivering its first operational satellite payload, despite the engine malfunction and shortened mission profile.
NASA also has a direct connection to Starship through its Artemis lunar program. The agency is working with SpaceX on a modified Starship Human Landing System for Artemis III and Artemis IV missions. That lunar version will transport astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. NASA requires an uncrewed lunar demonstration before Starship carries astronauts under the program. Flight 14 remained an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not carry a crew.