DOMINANT ANGLE
Lisbon sees the fourteenth test flight of Starship as a technical demonstration snatched from uncertainty, rather than a lunar milestone already achieved.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
One of the six Raptor engines shut down at seven minutes and fourteen seconds into flight, at an altitude of around 150 km and 20 000 km/h (RTP Notícias).
- 02
Starship reached orbit at 275 km altitude with a single engine operating, after the "Go to Orbit" command was issued by mission control.
- 03
26 third-generation Starlink satellites were deployed, one per minute, and the Super Heavy booster splashed down as planned in the Gulf of Mexico.
ANALYSIS
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.
