SpaceX achieved a historic first on September 28, 2026, when its Starship spacecraft reached Earth’s orbit for the first time during the 14th integrated test flight from Starbase, Texas. The vehicle overcame the loss of one upper-stage Raptor engine during ascent and successfully entered orbit roughly 26 minutes after liftoff. Once in space, Starship deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites at an altitude of about 269 kilometers, marking the rocket’s first operational payload delivery. Mission controllers then shortened the flight from its planned 10-hour duration of six orbits to approximately three hours before guiding the spacecraft to a controlled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Super Heavy booster also completed its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. This successful orbital flight represents a major step forward for the Starship program, providing critical data on vehicle performance, satellite deployment, and reentry under real conditions. SpaceX views the mission as key progress toward full reusability and routine operations that could support future commercial launches and NASA’s Artemis lunar goals. Despite the early engine issue that prompted the shortened timeline, the overall success underscores the vehicle’s growing reliability on increasingly ambitious test profiles.