STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship made its inaugural journey into Earth’s orbit on September 28, 2026, marking its 14th full-scale flight test, during which it was launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas atop a Super Heavy booster. Despite losing one of its main Raptor engines during ascent, the spacecraft successfully entered orbit and then deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, achieving the first orbital payload deployment in its history.
Following separation from the Super Heavy booster, the engine shut down earlier than planned, prompting flight controllers to initially assess whether the spacecraft could continue its mission safely. Engineers verified that the remaining engines provided sufficient redundancy, allowing Starship to carry out its planned orbital insertion. Historically, previous Starship tests had only achieved suborbital trajectories, making Flight 14 the first to place the vehicle into a stable Earth orbit.
Initially, SpaceX intended a mission of nearly 10 hours that would complete about six orbits around Earth, with a controlled deorbit and splashdown planned in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, due to the engine issue, the mission duration was shortened to approximately three hours, during which Starship still managed to release all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at around 270 kilometers altitude before beginning its return trajectory.
Starship achieves milestone with first satellite deployment in orbit
This deployment of Starlink satellites represented the first time Starship transported operational satellites into space. The V3 series, representing a newer generation of SpaceX’s broadband satellites, require the increased payload capacity that only Starship can provide. SpaceX confirmed that all 26 satellites successfully separated from the vehicle during the orbital phase, demonstrating Starship’s capability to carry and release a substantial satellite payload once in its designated orbit.
Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster followed its own reentry profile after stage separation, attempting its planned landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico; however, several engines malfunctioned during descent, resulting in a hard splashdown in the Gulf. Later, Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere and descended toward the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii instead of the initially targeted splashdown zone west of Chile.
Mission concludes after a three-hour flight with a hard landing
The spacecraft completed its controlled descent and reached the Pacific Ocean after roughly three hours in flight, but subsequently toppled over upon reaching the ocean surface, with flames visible around the vehicle. SpaceX did not intend to recover either Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water following this test. The mission’s primary achievement was its first orbital insertion and successful deployment of its first operational satellite payload, despite the engine malfunction and shortened profile.
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, which will be used to ferry astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. Before Starship can carry crew members, NASA requires an uncrewed lunar demonstration; this flight, 14, was solely an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not carry any crew.
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