Starship reaches orbit for first time, flight cut short

The Starship rocket reached orbit for the first time on Monday, September 28, 2026. On the 14th flight of the Super Heavy-Starship system, SpaceX released 26 third-generation Starlink satellites after launching from its Starbase complex in Texas. The flight still lasted about three hours instead of the planned ten, and the ship ended up in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii, not off the coast of Chile.

Liftoff came at 8:49 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, or 2:49 p.m. in Belgrade. The previous 13 suborbital flights got no farther than the Indian Ocean, and many ended with the ship being destroyed. This is also the first time Starship has carried an operational payload rather than a test one.

How the ascent went

The first stage, Super Heavy, has 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines and about 16 million pounds of thrust (roughly 71 meganewtons). The full rocket stands between 122 and 124 meters tall, depending on the source. Two minutes and 20 seconds after liftoff the first-stage engines began shutting down, and stage separation followed as six engines on the upper stage ignited.

The first stage did not get through the flight cleanly either. One engine shut down early during the climb, and according to Spaceflight Now another went out during the burn for the return. The stage still made an upright descent into the Gulf of Mexico, a few miles off the Texas coast. It was not meant to return to the launch pad, and the catch with mechanical arms, which SpaceX has pulled off four times so far, was not attempted on this flight.

The upper stage had its own problem: one of its six engines shut down early on a trajectory that was initially suborbital. After several minutes of deliberation, flight control judged the remaining engines healthy and decided to continue. Flight control then announced: “Starship is in orbit,” to cheers from the people in the room.

The ship reached an orbit about 275 kilometers (170 miles) high according to the Associated Press, or 180 miles (about 290 kilometers) according to Spaceflight Now, at a speed of around 28,000 kilometers per hour. Through a dispenser in its nose, it released the 26 satellites one at a time, each with ten times the capacity of the previous generation. The Starlink network already counts about 11,000 satellites.

Why was the flight cut short?

The plan called for six trips around the Earth and a splashdown off the Chilean coast shortly before 6 p.m. Eastern time. Once the satellites were out, controllers decided to bring the ship back early. SpaceX has not officially said why.

The ship entered the atmosphere belly first, and three Raptor engines relit before the descent. The splashdown came at 11:57 a.m. Eastern time (5:57 p.m. in Belgrade). As in earlier ocean landings, the ship tipped over and exploded when the remaining fuel ignited.

Earlier this month, at a business event, Musk explained why the company is cautious about bringing the ship back over land. If the ship broke up over ground and pieces fell on people, he said, “our popularity would drop very quickly.” He added: “That’s why we’re extremely careful here.” If the findings from this flight allow it, the next ship could return to the pad and be caught by the mechanical arms. Musk gives the catch even or slightly better odds, and if it works, SpaceX intends to relaunch the ship by the end of the year or early next year. Engineers changed the heat shield for this ship based on an inspection of the ship recovered from the Indian Ocean in July.

What this means for Artemis

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on X:

“Gorgeous launch, getting Ship to orbit and managing every step in a safe, responsible, and especially inspirational way.”

Isaacman added that NASA, like the rest of the interested public, wants to help where it can so that Starship missions become routine.

For NASA, reaching orbit and coming back is a prerequisite for the lunar program. Artemis III, no earlier than next year, is planned as a test flight in Earth orbit: an Orion capsule with four astronauts is to dock with prototype landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. The Moon landing is planned only for Artemis IV, no earlier than 2028, on whichever lander is ready first.

For that mission SpaceX would have to launch up to fifteen tankers to fuel the lander before its trip to the Moon. Spaceflight Now writes that many observers with NASA and industry experience doubt SpaceX can deliver a tested lander by 2028, which is why NASA is also funding Blue Origin’s alternative lander.

What this flight does not prove

One successful flight says little about the reliability of the system. One engine shut down early on each stage, and the cause has not been released. The reason for cutting the flight short is also unknown, so it cannot be said whether caution or a technical problem was behind it. The upper stage has not yet tried a return to the pad, and Spaceflight Now reports it is unknown whether SpaceX can meet the 2028 lunar deadline. What is confirmed is the orbit, the 26 satellites released, and a ship that came down in a controlled way, but into the sea.