Starship reaches orbit for the first time and deploys 26 Starlink satellites before a shortened flight

Canberra, September 29, 2026. Australian dailies are reproducing, almost word for word, the account of the fourteenth test flight of Starship, launched on Monday from the Starbase complex, south of Texas. The SpaceX vessel, as tall as a forty-story building, reached orbit for the first time, a milestone that previous tests had never achieved: they never ventured further than the Indian Ocean, often crashing in flames after a brief passage near space, report the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The scenario nonetheless came close to failure. Shortly after takeoff, one of the three main engines of the vessel shut down prematurely. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot initially announced live that the vehicle would not be able to reach orbit: "The team has decided not to proceed to orbit." A few minutes later, the engineers reversed course: with the other systems functioning normally and the faulty engine no longer necessary, the mission controllers chose to continue. "Starship is in orbit," the control center announced, under the applause broadcast from Starbase.

The vessel deployed 26 new-generation Starlink satellites, which join the approximately 11,000 already in service, according to PerthNow and ABC News. SpaceX aimed for six complete orbits of the Earth at an altitude of 275 kilometers over nearly ten hours, before a splashdown in the Pacific near Chile; the mission was ultimately reduced to around three hours. The first stage, the Super Heavy booster, was not intended to return to land at Starbase but to fall back into the Gulf of Mexico, where some of its engines shut down during descent, SpaceX specifies.

The Australian press is also relaying the caution displayed by Elon Musk, who recently mentioned at an economic summit the risk of a vessel disintegrating over inhabited areas: "Our popularity would drop very quickly," he warned, justifying the gradual tests before a return of the vessel to its launch tower. For Australia, this flight primarily confirms that Starship is moving closer to NASA's lunar program Artemis, without local media adding any analysis specific to the country: the account remains calibrated to that of the American agencies.

Buenos Aires, September 29, 2026. The Argentine press first highlights the technical performance: Starship, Elon Musk's space megodon, reached Earth's orbit for the first time on Monday, September 28, during its fourteenth test flight from Starbase, in Texas, despite a malfunction affecting one of the 33 Raptor engines of its first stage, reports Infobae. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot initially announced live that Starship would not attempt orbital insertion after the premature shutdown of an engine, before correcting himself minutes later, as engineers deemed the ship still had the necessary conditions for the required ignition.

The vessel took off at 7:46 Texas time (12:46 GMT) from the Starbase complex, near Brownsville, on the Gulf of Mexico. The mission planned for approximately ten hours of flight and six orbits of the Earth at an altitude of 275 kilometers, before a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile, and thus at the gates of the Southern Cone, according to Clarín. The newspaper recalls that this flight follows SpaceX's successful IPO in June, with the company betting on an accelerated pace of ambitious tests.

Starship was to deploy 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, which would be added to a constellation already in orbit. Starship's senior launch director, Justin Styer, compared the power of the takeoff to a machine gun capable of firing eleven vans per second rather than projectiles, an image picked up by Infobae to emphasize the magnitude of the first stage, which is 123 meters high and propelled by its 33 Raptor engines.

Argentine articles insist on the path that remains to be traveled: despite this milestone, enormous technical challenges persist before Starship, which Elon Musk wants to be totally reusable, is ready for commercial flights or missions to the Moon and Mars, according to Clarín. The newspaper also emphasizes that previous tests have sometimes ended in spectacular explosions, recalling the fragility of the program despite the advances.

None of the articles consulted mention the NASA's Artemis program or the reaction of its administrator Jared Isaacman, or the reason for the shortening of the flight after about three hours instead of the planned ten, a silence that recenters the Argentine narrative on the engineering feat rather than its geopolitical or institutional stakes.

Brussels, September 29, 2026. On Monday, September 28 at 2:48 p.m. Texas time, the SpaceX Starship vessel reached Earth's orbit for the first time in its history, after a fourteenth test flight from the Starbase base in Texas. The Flemish public channel VRT NWS reports extreme tension in Elon Musk's team: "20 minuten voelden als 3 uur" ("20 minutes felt like 3 hours"), according to the media's account. About thirty minutes after takeoff, 26 new-generation Starlink satellites were released one by one into space, to the applause of the control center, VRT NWS specifies.

La Libre Belgique emphasizes that the upper stage of the rocket, the largest and most powerful ever built, flew at 28,000 km/h and succeeded in a risky but essential test on its first attempt. The newspaper puts the test into perspective three months after SpaceX's resounding stock market debut, a context that increases the pressure on each technical step taken.

The newspaper gives the floor to Kathleen Curlee, space analyst at Georgetown University, as quoted by AFP: reaching orbit "implies more force and more complex calculations", the rocket having to perform different maneuvers according to the level of gravity it is subjected to. For La Libre, this technical complexity explains why the goal remained out of reach during the thirteen previous flights.

The Belgian press mainly retains what this flight proves and what remains to be demonstrated. VRT NWS recalls that the mission, scheduled to last about ten hours and make six turns around the Earth, is part of a competition where China is also showing great lunar ambitions, while SpaceX is working with NASA on its commercial program. La Libre insists on the technical challenges that still separate Starship from regular commercial flights, the deployment of data centers in orbit, or a trip to the Moon or Mars, as well as on Elon Musk's ambition to make the rocket totally reusable.

Neither of the two media outlets consulted mentions at this stage the premature shutdown of an engine or the shortening of the flight mentioned by other international sources: the Belgian coverage focuses on the achievement of reaching orbit and the technical obstacles still ahead for SpaceX.

Ottawa, September 29, 2026. For the Canadian press, the technical feat of September 28 is measured by its reserves. Starship, SpaceX's rocket, reached orbit for the first time during its fourteenth test flight from Starbase, Texas, report CBC News and the Globe and Mail. "Starship is in orbit," the control center announced, to applause, according to the two dailies.

The vessel nonetheless almost missed its objective: one of its engines shut down too early after takeoff. The flight controllers nevertheless chose, after several minutes of tension, to continue the mission since the rest of the system was functioning normally and the faulty engine was no longer necessary.

Twenty-six new-generation Starlink satellites, the most advanced to date, were then deployed one by one, joining the approximately 11,000 already in service, specifies CBC News. SpaceX aimed for a flight of nearly ten hours and six complete orbits of the Earth at 275 kilometers altitude, in order to demonstrate its preparation for NASA's Artemis lunar program. The mission was nevertheless cut short after a little over three hours, the vessel splashing down in the Pacific near Chile. "No reason was given," notes CBC News. The first stage, on the other hand, fell back as planned into the Gulf of Mexico, without attempting to return to the base.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX for having "managed each stage in a safe, responsible, and particularly inspiring manner," according to the words reported by CBC News. The Globe and Mail recalls that the next step, if this flight is deemed conclusive, will consist of bringing the next Starship back to land on the launch tower, seized by giant mechanical arms — a maneuver to which Elon Musk gives "equal or slightly higher chances" of succeeding.

The founder of SpaceX justifies the caution due to the risk represented by a vessel disintegrating over inhabited areas: "our popularity would drop very quickly," he declared during an economic summit, cited by the Globe and Mail. For the Canadian press, the test marks a real technical milestone, but leaves it incomplete: orbit reached, engine lost, flight shortened without public explanation — as many areas of uncertainty that the next recovery attempt will have to dispel before the complete reuse of Starship is taken for granted.

Berlin, September 29, 2026. The German press first notes a figure: the fourteenth test flight of Starship, which took off Monday morning from Starbase, Texas, is the first to have reached orbit. Tagesschau begins its account with this milestone, before immediately nuancing: "wegen technischer Probleme landete sie aber schon Stunden früher im Pazifik" — due to technical problems, the rocket splashed down hours earlier than planned in the Pacific. The flight was supposed to last about ten hours and make six orbits around the Earth at 275 kilometers altitude and 28,000 km/h; it was interrupted after about three hours, without SpaceX explaining the exact cause. According to Tagesschau, "offenbar hatte sich ein Triebwerk zu früh abgeschaltet" — a engine apparently shut down too early.

ZEIT Online emphasizes the size of the spacecraft, larger than the Statue of Liberty: a 70-meter Super Heavy booster and a 50-meter upper stage, designed to be reusable. Both titles note that the first test flight, in April 2023, ended with an explosion a few minutes after takeoff, and that subsequent tests were below expectations — a context that makes this orbit a significant progress, without erasing the premature engine shutdown or the shortened flight.

The deployment of new-generation Starlink V3 satellites is presented as a technical first in itself: deployment of antennas, solar panels, and then establishment of links with Earth and other satellites — a sequence already simulated in previous tests, and which seems to have largely worked this time according to information provided by SpaceX itself.

A third ZEIT Online article takes a step back: it recounts a speech given by Elon Musk ten years ago at a space conference in Mexico, where he presented Starship as the path to a "multiplanetary" humanity, with Mars as a safeguard in case of a planetary catastrophe. It quotes Musk: "Ich habe persönlich keine andere Motivation, Reichtum anzusammeln, als zu diesem Ziel beizutragen" — I personally have no other motivation to accumulate wealth than to contribute to this goal.

The NASA wants to use Starship to send astronauts to the Moon; SpaceX aims for Mars. The German reading remains measured: orbit is a real milestone, but the shortened mission and the faulty engine remind that reliability remains to be demonstrated before any manned flight.

Paris, September 29, 2026. Starship cleared a historic milestone on Monday, September 28, according to the French press: during its fourteenth test flight from Starbase in Texas, the giant SpaceX launcher reached Earth's orbit for the first time, despite a malfunction in one of the six engines of its upper stage. "We will only go into orbit if everything seems to be in order on all levels," SpaceX engineer Jake Berkowitz had warned before takeoff, as reported by HuffPost France. The team nonetheless chose to continue the flight.

Beyond the technical achievement, Le Monde places the event on a strategic and commercial level: "SpaceX continues to lead the way in the strategic field of rockets and satellite internet supply." The upper stage deployed twenty-six third-generation Starlink satellites, dubbed "Starlink V3", which are more powerful than their predecessors. Analyst Jean-Baptiste Thépaut, from the Novaspace firm, sees this as a "major innovation": "These satellites have a capacity of nearly one terabit per second, ten times that of the previous generation of satellites, which is absolutely enormous." At the beginning of August, Elon Musk himself touted "a radical change, a significant change" during the presentation of SpaceX's financial results.

RFI and HuffPost France recall that this flight comes three months after SpaceX's resounding entry onto the stock market in June. The spacecraft, planned for ten hours and six orbits of the Earth, finally splashed down in the Pacific Ocean much earlier than expected, without SpaceX providing a reason; the launch had taken place at 07:46 (12:46 UTC) from the Brownsville complex, near the Gulf of Mexico. Air&Cosmos notes that no recovery was planned for this flight, either for the Starship spacecraft or the Super Heavy booster, after "years of battling with the FAA" to obtain authorization for a first orbital flight.

There remains, RFI emphasizes, "a long road ahead before commercial flights": Elon Musk ultimately plans to fly hundreds, even thousands, of Starships per year, to transport data centers into orbit or reach the Moon and Mars, a launch rate without precedent, according to the media.

Vilnius, September 29, 2026. Lithuania's economic and general press followed the night of Monday, September 28, with a mix of technical admiration and caution. For Kauno diena and Verslo žinios, the central event can be summed up in one phrase: after thirteen suborbital test flights since 2023, SpaceX's Starship rocket finally reached Earth's orbit on its fourteenth flight.

The two publications report the same raw figures. The vehicle, over 120 meters tall, took off at 8:48 local time — 15:48 Lithuanian time — from the Starbase complex near Brownsville, Texas. The upper stage separated from the launcher and entered orbit at over 26,300 km/h, at an altitude of 277 kilometers. The flight, planned to last about ten hours and six orbits around the Earth before a splashdown in the Pacific, was to deploy 26 new Starlink satellites of the latest generation.

Kauno diena directly qualifies the attempt as a "sėkmingas bandymas" — a successful test — and presents it as a decisive step towards future manned missions to the Moon and Mars. Verslo žinios adopts the same factual framework but emphasizes the cost of the program: according to the economic daily, the development of Starship has already cost SpaceX over $15 billion since the launch of full-configuration tests in 2023.

The two newspapers recall, almost word for word, that the black and silver rocket remains the largest and most powerful flying object ever built, and that it has undergone numerous modifications before this flight. They also stress that Elon Musk hopes to make it a fully reusable launcher, but that significant technical obstacles remain to be overcome before Starship can be deemed ready for commercial flights or lunar and Martian missions.

Neither of the two articles details the incidents that occurred during the flight or the actual duration; their coverage, published before the complete outcome of the mission, stops at the announced flight plan. Kauno diena finally recalls that three other SpaceX launches are scheduled this week, including a manned flight to the International Space Station — a sign, for the Lithuanian press, that this launch rate remains the true measure of the program's maturity, more than this single test flight.

Mexico, September 29, 2026. For the Mexican press, the information can be summed up in a single phrase, identical in the two major headlines of the Reforma group: the Starship flight 14, which took off from the Starbase base in Texas on September 28, reached Earth's orbit for the first time. Reforma and El Norte publish a strictly identical text, credited to "Grupo REFORMA", which welcomes a "hito clave" (a decisive milestone) in the development of the largest rocket ever built, designed, in their view, for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

The dispatch, illustrated with a photo credited to AFP, emphasizes the symbolic significance of the event: three years after its first test flight, Elon Musk's vehicle has finally crossed the orbital threshold and deployed satellites in Earth's orbit. No details are given about the exact nature or number of these satellites: the dispatch simply presents their deployment as proof that Starship is now functioning as an operational launcher, and no longer just as an experimental prototype destined to explode in flight.

The text, dated and written from Washington, situates the event in a strictly American perspective: no mention is made of the possible repercussions for Mexico, which is nonetheless the immediate neighbor of Starbase, just a few kilometers from the border with Tamaulipas. Neither the premature shutdown of an engine at takeoff, nor the shortening of the flight compared to the ten hours planned, nor the fall of the first stage into the Gulf of Mexico are mentioned in the version distributed by Reforma and El Norte. The Mexican reader only learns that the orbit was reached, without knowing how or at what technical cost.

This minimalist coverage, reproduced without variation by two distinct titles, reflects a dependence on a single dispatch rather than local verification work. The editorial choice made is that of brute technical achievement: three years of testing, a symbolic milestone reached, a promise turned towards the Moon and Mars. For Mexican readers, SpaceX's feat remains primarily presented as American news, reported with the distance of an external fact rather than with the geographical proximity that actually unites Starbase to the neighboring Mexican territory.

Warsaw, September 29, 2026. The Polish press followed the fourteenth test flight of Starship on Monday as a separate event, hailing a success despite a scare along the way. Twenty-five minutes after takeoff from Starbase, in Texas, the vessel powered by the first-stage Super Heavy reached Earth's orbit, a first for the program. It was at this point that Starship carried out the first deployment of 26 new-generation Starlink satellites, version V3. SpaceX confirmed that it had established contact with the first of these.

The most commented-on technical fact remains the engine failure that occurred shortly after takeoff: one of Starship's six engines, one of the three Raptor vacuum engines, failed. RMF24 reports that SpaceX engineers initially considered canceling the attempt to reach orbit, before deciding to continue the mission. Wirtualne Media, citing the PAP agency, summarizes that "the mission was close to failure." The vessel was then to complete six orbits of the Earth in about ten hours before splashing down in the Pacific, off the coast of Chile, a flight plan that pool articles describe without indicating that it was shortened during the mission.

Another notable difference from previous flights: this time, the Super Heavy booster did not attempt to land. It simulated a return maneuver over the Gulf of Mexico before splashing down, without trying to land on the launch pad.

Polish media directly link this test to the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon, and further, to a potential manned flight to Mars. Starship, presented as the most powerful launch system in the world, is seen as the key to less expensive access to orbit for more cargo and passengers. Each Starlink V3 satellite would provide 1 Tbps of bandwidth to the constellation, or 26 Tbps in total for this single launch, ten times more than a single launch of previous-generation satellites with a Falcon 9 rocket, according to RMF24.

The dominant tone remains that of a technological success validated despite the engine incident, rather than that of a flight interrupted before the scheduled time.

Lisbon, September 29, 2026. The Portuguese press sees the fourteenth test flight of Starship as a technical demonstration snatched from uncertainty, rather than a lunar milestone already achieved. According to RTP Notícias, the flight began "in an apparently routine manner", with a successful takeoff from Starbase, Texas, and a controlled return of the Super Heavy booster. But at seven minutes and fourteen seconds into the flight, when the spacecraft was at an altitude of around 150 kilometers and traveling at nearly 20,000 km/h, one of the six Raptor engines shut down. On orders from mission control, the remaining five engines were then shut down, and the spacecraft continued on its trajectory in passive flight, thanks to the energy accumulated during ascent.

For several minutes, the engineering teams analyzed the telemetry data. By the twentieth minute, Starship was already at an altitude of around 260 kilometers, traveling at nearly 26,000 km/h, close to the parameters necessary for orbital insertion. Mission control then gave an unprecedented order: "Go to Orbit". L'Observador reports that the decision to enter orbit was made at the last minute: the maneuver was scheduled around 25 minutes after takeoff, but the detected failure of a Raptor engine called into question the mission's progress. The teams only gave their green light after "many conversations" in the control room, announcing live: "Seguimos para órbita!".

Starship finally began its orbital insertion maneuver at 275 kilometers altitude, with only one engine operating. Applause was heard from the command post in Texas. Shortly after, the spacecraft deployed 26 third-generation Starlink satellites, at a rate of one per minute. As planned, the Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. The return of Starship to Earth was announced for around ten hours after launch, or approximately 11 pm in Lisbon.

The Portuguese media recall that during its previous flight in July, Starship was recovered intact in the Indian Ocean for the first time, before being examined for several weeks. RTP Notícias describes the orbital insertion as a "fundamental milestone" for Elon Musk's lunar and Martian exploration projects, without dwelling on the schedule of NASA's Artemis program or the commercial scope of the deployed satellites.

Bucharest, Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The Romanian press first notes the technical suspense more than the announced triumph. According to Digi24, which cites Agerpres, Starship took off from the Starbase complex, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas, at 12:46 GMT on Monday, September 28. As tall as a 40-story building and composed of the Super Heavy booster and the Ship 41 stage, the rocket successfully executed the hot separation two minutes and 34 seconds after takeoff.

But one of the three main engines of the spacecraft shut down prematurely. Mediafax reports that SpaceX had initially announced that Starship would not attempt to reach orbit, before engineers determined, a few minutes later, that the remaining engines were sufficient to continue the combustion sequence. SpaceX then announced on X that Starship had reached orbit on its first attempt and delivered Starlink satellites for the first time.

The 26 Starlink V3 satellites were deployed at an altitude of approximately 269 kilometers; Elon Musk stated that they were all functioning normally. Mediafax highlights the commercial scope of the flight: it is the first revenue-generating payload carried by Starship, while the final design of the ship remains in development. The V3 satellites can carry up to ten times more data than the V2 mini generation, and SpaceX plans to launch batches of up to 60 V3 satellites per mission in the future.

The mission, scheduled to last around ten hours and six revolutions around the Earth, was reduced to three hours due to the engine failure, before splashing down in the Pacific, west of Chile. The Booster 21 propeller, for its part, performed its braking burn before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico as planned.

Digi24 recalls that this fourteenth test flight is preparing the regular service that SpaceX wants to launch this year, as well as NASA's future lunar missions. For the Romanian press, the lesson lies less in the orbit achieved - a first after thirteen suborbital tests since 2023 - than in the system's ability to compensate for a failure in real-time.

Moscow, September 29, 2026. For the Russian press, the fourteenth test flight of Starship marks a technical advance viewed with caution: the SpaceX rocket successfully reached Earth's orbit for the first time on Monday from the Starbase facility in Texas, but the shortened mission and the explosion of the spacecraft upon landing occupy a large part of the account.

Interfax recalls the mission parameters: liftoff at 12:48 local time (15:48 in Moscow), ascent to approximately 275 km altitude, six orbits of the Earth planned over nearly ten hours, before a landing in the Pacific west of Chile. The agency emphasizes that "all previous attempts followed suborbital trajectories" and that this flight "paves the way for the next stage: the creation of a fully and rapidly reusable system".

The Super Heavy launcher, according to Interfax, landed in the Gulf of Mexico about nine minutes after liftoff, despite the shutdown of one of its 33 engines in flight, an incident that "did not prevent the spacecraft from reaching orbit". Starship deployed 26 new-generation Starlink satellites, Meduza reports, citing CNN to emphasize the significance of the event: this launch "marks the beginning of the transition from the testing phase to full-scale operation" of the rocket.

But the failure of one of the six engines of the spacecraft shortly after separation led SpaceX to reduce the mission by a factor of three: three hours of flight instead of ten, Meduza reports. Vedomosti and TASS, citing the American channel ABC, focus on the final episode: the spacecraft exploded upon landing in the north of the Pacific. SpaceX explained that Starship "is not designed to land in cold water" and specified that this "does not constitute a sign of failure", the mission still being considered a success despite the engine incident.

RT notes that the Starlink V3 satellites on board offer a downlink capacity ten times higher than the previous generation, a commercial argument that the Russian press associates with SpaceX's growing dominance over access to the internet via satellite. The next flight, if this one is deemed conclusive, will have to demonstrate the capture of the spacecraft by the arms of the launch tower, a step towards the full reuse of the system.

Singapour, 29 September 2026. The Straits Times and Channel News Asia have reproduced, almost word for word, the Reuters dispatch on the fourteenth test flight of Starship, which took off on Monday from Starbase, Texas. The two publications first highlighted the margin of error in the flight: one of the launcher's engines stopped earlier than expected, just after takeoff. During the live broadcast of the mission, SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot initially announced that Starship would not be able to reach orbit, before retracting his statement a few minutes later, once the engineers confirmed that a key engine ignition was still possible to lift the vehicle into orbit.

This hesitation during the live broadcast, more than the deployment of satellites itself, structures the narrative relayed in Singapour. The spacecraft, forty storeys high and composed of a Super Heavy first stage topped with the Starship spacecraft, was to complete six orbits of the Earth in ten hours of flight, before splashing down in the Pacific west of Chile. Designed to launch SpaceX's Starlink satellites more frequently and eventually transport NASA's lunar missions, this flight was a basic milestone for Starship, one that every new launcher must pass before delivering payloads.

The articles recall that Elon Musk had predicted this outcome for 2022, followed by satellite deployments from 2023. However, since 2023, the thirteen previous test flights of Starship had been limited to suborbital space, despite a decade of development that has cost SpaceX more than $15 billion to date. Musk plans to eventually fly hundreds, even thousands of Starship per year, a launch rate unprecedented in the space industry.

Channel News Asia sees this fourteenth launch as the prelude to a routine commercial service that SpaceX plans to launch later in the year. For the city-state, whose digital economy remains dependent on major private satellite operators, this flight weighs less as a spectacular achievement than as a reliability milestone: one less engine was not enough to cause the mission to fail, but the episode confirms that the margin between success and failure remains narrow for the most powerful launcher ever built.

Washington, September 29, 2026. After three and a half years of testing and thirteen unsuccessful orbital flights, SpaceX crossed the threshold that neither the press nor NASA dared guarantee on Monday: the fourteenth test flight of Starship reached Earth's orbit, at 170 miles altitude, in 25 minutes and 17 seconds from Starbase, Texas. "Starship performs its orbital insertion burn and enters orbit of Earth for the first time," SpaceX announced on X, according to Time, which describes the event as a milestone "impossible to overestimate" for the company's lunar and Martian ambitions, as well as those of NASA.

The vessel, 407 feet tall on its launch pad and equipped with 33 engines in the first stage producing 16.7 million pounds of thrust, far surpasses the power of NASA's Space Launch System, at 8.8 million pounds, reports Time. The Federal Aviation Administration had issued its flight authorization on September 26, CNBC notes. The launch, scheduled for around ten hours and six orbits of the Earth before a splashdown in the Pacific, was nonetheless cut short after about three hours, without SpaceX specifying the reason.

During the flight, Starship deployed 26 new Starlink V3 satellites, bringing the constellation to around 11,000 active satellites, compared to 650 for competitor Eutelsat OneWeb, according to CNBC. Elon Musk had stated in August that "it's not excluded that at some point, Starlink will deliver the majority of the world's internet." The first stage Super Heavy, modified after icing issues during the previous flight, splashed down as planned in the Gulf of Mexico.

Axios notes that SpaceX did not attempt this time to "catch" Starship with the arms of its launch tower, a maneuver already successfully performed with the sole Super Heavy. "By going to orbit, the next phase of developing Starship to be fully and rapidly reusable can begin," the company explained in its mission report. The Hill recalls that the stated goal remains to demonstrate the vessel's capability for NASA's Artemis program, which is to return American astronauts to the Moon.

Pretoria, September 29, 2026. For the South African press, the fourteenth test flight of Starship is as much a technical feat as a promise of revenue. On Monday, September 28, the giant SpaceX rocket took off from Starbase, Texas, and reached orbit for the first time in its history, carrying 26 new-generation Starlink satellites, the V3, intended to join the network of more than 11,000 devices already in service.

The flight was not without a hitch. After takeoff, one of the three main engines of the upper stage shut down earlier than expected. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot initially announced live: "The team has made the call not to commit to orbit" - the team gave up on reaching orbit. A few minutes later, a reversal: the engineers confirmed that a second combustion allowed them to reach orbit despite everything. "Starship is orbital," a member of the control team exclaimed, to applause, before the deployment, satellite by satellite, at an altitude of approximately 269 kilometers.

The financial publication Moneyweb emphasizes the commercial dimension of the mission. SpaceX's financial director, Bret Johnsen, described it as a "revenue-generating flight" - the V3 satellites being production-quality and intended to integrate permanently into the network. Moneyweb reports that SpaceX expects "a very rapid increase in revenue" related to Starlink communications thanks to these new devices.

Business Day and TimesLIVE, which reproduce the same agency account signed by Joey Roulette, place the event in the trajectory of SpaceX towards routine operation of Starship by the end of the year, with regular use for Starlink launches and, ultimately, NASA's lunar missions. The Citizen recalls that previous tests, conducted on more cautious suborbital trajectories, had ended in spectacular explosions, including over the Caribbean - which, according to the publication, gives full relief to this first orbital flight.

SABC News had presented, before the flight, this fourteenth test as a potentially pivotal moment, where Starship was to move from an experimental status to that of an operational and reusable vehicle, capable of carrying satellites, lunar missions, and, one day, a flight to Mars.