DOMINANT ANGLE
The United States government first notes the engineering feat: after three and a half years of testing and thirteen unsuccessful orbital flights, Starship finally reaches orbit, even if a faulty engine and a shortened flight serve as a reminder that total reusability remains to be demonstrated.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Starship reached Earth's orbit in 25 minutes and 17 seconds, at 170 miles altitude, during its fourteenth test flight from Starbase, in Texas
- 02
The flight deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, bringing the constellation to around 11,000 active satellites, compared to 650 for Eutelsat OneWeb
- 03
The flight, scheduled for about ten hours, was cut short after about three hours without SpaceX specifying the reason, while the Super Heavy first stage splashed down as planned in the gulf
ANALYSIS
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.
