‘We’re being extremely cautious here’: Starship reaches orbit for first time, but SpaceX cut its planned 10-hour trip after 3 hours
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on reaching orbit and “managing every step in a safe, responsible and especially inspirational way.”
SpaceX successfully launched its massive Starship into orbit for the first time on Monday, but decided to cut short the 10-hour flight after just three hours, landing the spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii. The company had planned the 10-hour journey to include six full orbits around Earth, demonstrating readiness for NASA's Artemis moon program.
However, one of the rocket's engines shut down prematurely, causing initial concern. Yet, with minimal issues and the faulty engine no longer needed, flight controllers opted to proceed as planned. Starship reached orbit, with Mission Control announcing, "Starship is orbital," to cheers from the crowd. The successful mission, SpaceX's 14th full-scale launch from Texas, delivered 26 advanced Starlink satellites, joining the existing 11,000 older models.
Despite the early end to the flight, SpaceX is committed to ensuring the spacecraft's safety and reliability before attempting to return it to the launch site.
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