Why This Matters: SpaceX’s Starship has reached Earth orbit for the first time, a milestone for the company’s effort to develop a large, reusable spacecraft for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
What happened
Starship lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at 7:48 a.m. local time on 28 September 2026. The launch was the vehicle’s 14th test flight and its first attempt to travel around Earth before returning to the planet.
An engine failure during ascent threatened to prevent the spacecraft from reaching orbit. Mission controllers decided it was safe to continue, however, and carried out a burn that placed Starship on a planned trajectory around Earth. Moments later, engineer Daniel Hewitt, narrating the company’s livestream, declared: “Starship is in orbit.”
How the flight was designed
Starship reached an altitude of about 171 miles (275 kilometres). The original plan called for six loops of Earth over nearly 10 hours, followed by a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.
More than an hour into the mission, SpaceX said the spacecraft would return earlier than planned, targeting a landing in the north Pacific about three hours after launch. During re-entry, Starship used four aerodynamic flaps to control its speed and orientation. It approached the water horizontally, righted itself and slowed down before erupting in flames.
To remain in orbit, the vehicle had to travel at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,400 miles per hour).
A two-stage vehicle
Starship consists of an upper stage mounted on a “Super Heavy” booster. The complete rocket stands more than 120 metres tall on the launchpad.
During the flight, the booster separated from Starship and returned toward an offshore landing point in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX did not plan to catch the booster with mechanical arms during this test, unlike a previous 2024 flight.
Engineers had modified the rocket’s hardware and software after problems on the previous test flight. During that earlier flight, three booster engines began to clog with ice, and only eight of 13 planned engines reignited for the landing burn, resulting in a hard landing in the water.
Why the milestone matters
Previous full Starship test flights since 2023 had aimed for suborbital trajectories. These are simpler and carry fewer risks for the public because malfunctioning or destroyed remnants are directed toward the Indian Ocean, far from populated areas. Full orbital paths are harder to control if something goes wrong.
Martin Barstow, a professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester, described the achievement as an important milestone. He said it marked the start of a transition from testing and development toward becoming a working vehicle capable of carrying the large payloads needed for a return to the Moon.
SpaceX and NASA hope to use Starship to carry astronauts to the Moon as part of a new era of lunar expeditions. SpaceX also intends to develop fully reusable rockets to shorten mission turnaround times and reduce the cost of future space travel.
Other objectives and limitations
The latest test flight also deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites. Three carried cameras intended to capture images of Starship’s heat shield for testing that will inform future missions.
The orbital achievement came after several Starship test flights ended in failure. One rocket exploded soon after launch and scattered debris over the Bahamas, another spun out of control after separating from its booster, and a later rocket exploded during preparations for a test flight.
Reaching orbit is therefore a significant development, but the early return and fiery end of this flight show that Starship remains in testing. The source article does not provide a detailed assessment of the vehicle’s post-flight condition or specify the next launch date.
Key facts
| Detail | Reported information |
|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX |
| Launch site | Starbase, Texas |
| Test flight | 14th full Starship test flight |
| Launch time | 7:48 a.m. local time on 28 September 2026 |
| Peak altitude reported | About 171 miles (275 kilometres) |
| Additional payload | 26 next-generation Starlink satellites |
Bottom Line
Starship reached orbit for the first time despite an engine failure during ascent, making the flight a major test milestone for SpaceX. The spacecraft’s early return and fiery splashdown also underline that the vehicle is still being developed and tested before the company’s planned lunar and Mars ambitions can be realised.
Source
This report is based on information published by The Guardian Science.
