STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship successfully entered Earth orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026, during its 14th full-scale flight test. The launch originated from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas, using a Super Heavy booster. Despite losing one of its main Raptor engines during ascent, Starship made it into orbit and proceeded to release 26 Starlink V3 satellites, marking the spacecraft’s inaugural 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 possessed adequate capability to continue safely. The remaining engines carried Starship through its intended orbital insertion after engineers verified sufficient system redundancy. Unlike previous Starship test flights that followed suborbital paths, Flight 14 was the first to place the vehicle into a stable Earth orbit.
Originally, SpaceX envisioned a mission lasting nearly 10 hours, completing approximately six orbits around Earth. The plan also included a controlled deorbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, due to the engine issue, the company shortened the mission, concluding it in about three hours. Before beginning its descent, Starship released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at an altitude of roughly 270 kilometers.
Starship achieves first satellite deployment in orbit
This deployment marked the maiden voyage of Starship carrying operational satellites into orbit. The V3 models represent a newer class of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites, which necessitate the increased payload capacity that Starship can provide. SpaceX confirmed that all 26 satellites successfully separated during the orbital phase. The event also demonstrated Starship’s capability to transport and release a significant satellite payload after reaching its designated orbit.
Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster executed a different return profile. It attempted a planned landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico, but several engines malfunctioned during descent. The booster ultimately made a hard splashdown in the Gulf. Meanwhile, Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere and descended toward the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii, instead of the initially targeted splashdown zone west of Chile.
Mission concludes after approximately three-hour flight
Starship completed its controlled descent and reached the Pacific after roughly three hours in flight. After touching down in the ocean, the spacecraft tipped over, and flames became visible surrounding the vehicle. SpaceX did not plan to recover either Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water following this test. Consequently, the flight ended after successfully achieving its first orbital insertion and deploying its first operational satellite payload, despite the engine failure and shortened profile.
NASA 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. This lunar version will ferry astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. NASA requires an uncrewed lunar demonstration prior to Starship’s crewed missions under the program. Flight 14 remained an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not carry astronauts.