STARBASE, TEXAS / RankWire.AI / – SpaceX’s Starship successfully reached Earth orbit for the first time on September 28, 2026, during its 14th full-scale test flight. The vehicle was launched from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas on top of a Super Heavy booster. Despite losing one of its main Raptor engines during ascent, Starship entered orbit and subsequently deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, marking the spacecraft’s inaugural orbital payload release.
The premature engine shutdown occurred after Starship separated from the Super Heavy booster. Flight controllers initially assessed whether the spacecraft could continue its mission safely. After confirming sufficient system redundancy, engineers approved the remaining engines to carry Starship through its intended orbital insertion. Prior test flights of Starship had been suborbital, making Flight 14 the first to place the craft into a stable Earth orbit.
Originally, SpaceX planned a nearly 10-hour mission with about six orbits around Earth. The mission profile included a controlled deorbit and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile. However, due to the engine issue, the duration was shortened to approximately three hours. Before beginning its return, Starship released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites at around 270 kilometers altitude.
Starship achieves its first orbital satellite deployment
This deployment marked the first occasion on which Starship carried operational satellites into orbit. The V3 satellites are part of a newer generation of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband constellation and are designed to utilize the increased payload capacity of Starship. SpaceX confirmed that all 26 satellites separated from the vehicle during the orbital phase. The event demonstrated Starship’s capability to carry and release a large satellite payload after reaching the designated orbit.
Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster executed a separate descent profile. During its planned landing burn over the Gulf of Mexico, several engines did not function as expected, resulting in a hard splashdown in the Gulf. Meanwhile, Starship reentered Earth’s atmosphere and descended toward the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii, deviating from the initial plan to splash down west of Chile.
Mission concludes after a shortened three-hour flight
After about three hours in flight, Starship successfully completed its controlled descent and landed in the Pacific. The vehicle tipped over upon reaching the ocean, with flames visible around it. SpaceX did not intend to recover Starship or the Super Heavy booster from the water after this test. Despite the engine malfunction and abbreviated mission duration, the flight achieved its primary objectives: orbital insertion and deployment of its first operational satellite payload.
NASA maintains a direct connection to Starship via 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 transfer astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface. An uncrewed lunar demonstration is a prerequisite before Starship can carry astronauts under the program. Flight 14 served solely as an Earth-orbit test of the standard Starship system and did not carry a crew.