SpaceX sends Starship rocket into Earth orbit for first time

• SpaceX shortened the planned 10-hour, six-orbit mission to target a Pacific Ocean splashdown three hours after liftoff.
• Starship deployed next-generation Starlink satellites equipped with heat-shield inspection cameras, while the Super Heavy booster targeted a Gulf of Mexico splashdown.
• The milestone supports NASA’s Artemis lunar ambitions and validates design revisions following previous test flight failures.

SpaceX successfully launched its massive Starship rocket into Earth’s orbit for the first time, achieving a major milestone intended to advance future missions to the Moon and Mars.

Standing over 120 meters (131 yards) tall, the world's largest and most powerful rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas at 7:48 a.m. local time (12:48 GMT) for its 14th test flight. 

The mission represented the rocket’s first attempt to enter a full orbital path rather than the suborbital trajectories used in previous test flights to mitigate public risk.

During ascent, one of Starship's Raptor engines failed. However, mission controllers verified that hardware safeguards were intact and proceeded with the planned burn to push the upper stage into orbit. 

While original plans called for Starship to complete six orbits over nearly 10 hours before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile, SpaceX updated the flight timeline more than an hour into the mission, moving the targeted splashdown up to three hours after launch.

The flight profile also featured the deployment of next-generation Starlink satellites. Three of the deployed units carry dedicated onboard cameras aimed at capturing footage of Starship’s heat shield tiles to provide critical data for future reusability testing. 

Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster separated from the upper stage and executed a return maneuver targeting a water landing in the Gulf of Mexico, with engineers foregoing mechanical arm catch attempts to test software and hardware modifications designed to prevent ice buildup that hampered earlier tests.

Martin Barstow, professor of astrophysics and space science at the University of Leicester, described the launch as an important milestone that signals the transition from developmental testing toward operational missions capable of delivering heavy payloads to the Moon.

The successful orbital flight provides momentum for both SpaceX and NASA, which relies on Starship for its Artemis lunar landing program. It also offers a boost to investors following SpaceX's public stock listing in June, which saw initial share price gains followed by subsequent fluctuations. The milestone comes after a series of developmental setbacks, including explosions and loss of control during previous test flights.