Starship Reaches Orbit
SpaceX Starship reaches Earth orbit for the first time despite an engine failure during ascent.
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SpaceX’s crewless Starship Flight 14 reached Earth orbit for the first time Monday, after 13 previous test flights remained on suborbital paths. The orbital attempt nearly was called off after an engine failed during ascent, but mission controllers judged it safe to proceed and completed the insertion burn. The Super Heavy booster separated successfully and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. Starship was expected to make about six orbits during a nearly 10-hour test and attempt to deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites before a planned deorbit and Pacific splashdown; those objectives were still ahead at the time of the reports.
Key Points
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SpaceX said it would attempt orbital insertion only after flight controllers confirmed enough critical hardware remained redundant to carry out the later deorbit burn. The deorbit maneuver itself was planned using a relit Raptor engine.
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After stage separation, only 31 of the Super Heavy booster’s 33 engines reportedly reignited during its initial boost-back burn.
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The planned 26-satellite deployment would be Starship’s first release of actual Starlink satellites; earlier test flights had carried dummy payloads.
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Starship’s orbital milestone followed a development effort that had cost SpaceX more than $15 billion, according to the report; Elon Musk had previously predicted orbit by 2022 and satellite deployments by 2023.
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