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SpaceX's Starship goes orbital, deploying first next-gen Starlinks
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SpaceX’s Starship reached low-Earth orbit on its 14th test flight early Monday, deploying 26 of the company’s newest Starlink satellites. The launch from Starbase, Texas, broke from the suborbital profiles used on previous missions. It tested a deployment system for spacecraft too large for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Starship lifted off at 8:49 a.m. EDT (7:49 a.m. local, 12:49 UTC), using 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines that produced up to 18 million pounds of thrust. The 407-foot (124-meter) rocket climbed east over South Texas and passed the speed of sound. Its six upper-stage engines shut down a little more than eight minutes into the flight.
SpaceX chose a trajectory farther than earlier tests, which ended before a full orbit. After the upper-stage shutdown, the team had minutes to decide whether to restart an engine for the speed required to reach orbit. Officials approved the restart, sending Starship toward low-Earth orbit and its planned reentry.
After separating, the Super Heavy booster turned at high altitude and headed back toward Texas. It completed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near Starbase. Starship’s deployer then used pulleys and cables to eject the flat-packed satellites one by one.
The flight also exposed engine problems. One of Starship’s six Raptors shut down prematurely, while the other five burned longer to compensate. Two of Super Heavy’s 33 engines apparently failed, one during launch and another during return maneuvers, although the booster reached the Gulf.
SpaceX commentator Dan Huot initially reported that mission managers might abandon the orbital-insertion burn, but officials proceeded because the failed upper-stage engine was not required for the maneuver. The restart, satellite deployment and booster recovery supplied useful data for future flights. Engine anomalies remain concerns as SpaceX pursues more reliable operations and expanded Starlink deployment.
