SpaceX's Starship rocket does its job during first orbital flight

SpaceX successfully launched its Starship super-rocket on its inaugural orbital flight from the company's Starbase complex in Texas. The 407-foot-tall rocket soared into the sky at 7:50 a.m. local time, reaching nearly two orbits before returning to Earth. Despite a premature shutdown of one of the 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster, the ascent continued as planned, and the booster made a safe splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

During the critical orbital phase, Starship's satellite deployer released 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, each capable of providing data download speeds of up to 1 terabit per second - approximately ten times faster than SpaceX's current constellation. This marked the first time operational Starlink satellites were deployed from an orbital flight.

One of the six engines on the upper stage also shut down early, prompting a brief debate among SpaceX's team about proceeding with an orbital insertion burn. However, the team decided to continue, and the 19-second burn was executed smoothly, confirming that Starship is capable of reaching orbit.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed optimism about the future of Starship, estimating that the vehicle could be flying hourly flights in 2 to 3 years. In addition to deploying Starlink satellites, Starship is designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations beyond Earth orbit. NASA, too, has high hopes for Starship, planning to test a Starship lander and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander in Earth orbit as part of the Artemis 3 mission, which could pave the way for a crewed moon landing in early 2028.