Afghanistan, Sept. 29 -- SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on Monday, marking a major milestone for the company's next-generation rocket after 14 integrated test flights.
The uncrewed Starship lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas and successfully reached orbital velocity before deploying 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. The mission was the first Starship flight to carry an operational satellite payload into orbit.
The mission did not proceed entirely as planned. One of Starship's engines shut down during the flight, prompting SpaceX engineers to shorten the mission from its planned roughly 10-hour, six-orbit profile. The spacecraft returned to Earth after about three hours and splashed down ...