STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship achieved Earth orbit for the initial time on September 28, 2026, marking its 14th full-scale flight test. The spacecraft was launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas atop a Super Heavy booster. Despite losing one of its primary Raptor engines during ascent, Starship successfully entered orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, marking the spacecraft’s first-ever orbital payload deployment.
The engine shut down earlier than planned after Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster. Flight controllers initially assessed whether the spacecraft could continue safely. After confirming that sufficient system redundancy was in place, engineers authorized the remaining engines to carry Starship through its intended orbital insertion. Unlike previous Starship tests that followed suborbital paths, Flight 14 was the first to place the vehicle into a sustained Earth orbit.
Originally, SpaceX planned a nearly 10-hour mission involving about six orbits around Earth. The mission also included a controlled deorbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, due to the engine issue, the company shortened the flight to roughly three hours. During this time, Starship released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at an altitude of approximately 270 kilometers before beginning its return journey.
Starship Successfully Conducts Its First Deployment of Operational Satellites
This deployment of Starlink satellites marked the first time Starship carried operational payloads into orbit. The V3 satellites represent a newer generation of SpaceX’s broadband satellites, which require the increased payload capacity that Starship provides. SpaceX confirmed that all 26 satellites separated from the vehicle during the orbital phase. This event also demonstrated Starship’s capability to transport and deploy a large satellite payload once it reaches its target orbit.
Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster executed a different return trajectory. It attempted its planned landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico, but several engines did not perform as expected during descent. The booster ultimately experienced a hard splashdown in the Gulf. Meanwhile, Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere and headed toward the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii, deviating from its initial plan to splash down west of Chile.
Flight Concludes After a Shortened Three-Hour Mission
Starship completed a controlled descent and touched down in the Pacific after approximately three hours in flight. The vehicle tipped over upon reaching the ocean, with flames visible around it. SpaceX did not intend to recover either Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water after this test. Despite the engine malfunction and the reduced duration of the mission, the flight achieved its primary objectives: first orbital insertion and deployment of its first operational satellite payload.
NASA also maintains a direct link to Starship through its Artemis lunar program. The agency collaborates with SpaceX on a modified Starship Human Landing System for Artemis III and Artemis IV missions, which will ferry astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. An uncrewed lunar demonstration is a prerequisite before Starship can carry crew members for the program. Flight 14, however, was solely an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not include a crew onboard.