Starship reaches orbit for the first time and deploys 26 Starlink satellites

SpaceX's Starship made it to orbit for the first time on Monday, September 28, 2026. The uncrewed Flight 14 lifted off from Starbase in South Texas at 7:48 a.m. CDT (8:48 a.m. EDT) and, for the first time, carried a real payload: 26 of SpaceX's large third-generation (V3) Starlink internet satellites.

An engine out, but still on course

The flight did not go perfectly. One of the ship's six engines failed on the way up. According to NPR, SpaceX decided about 22 minutes into the flight that it was safe to continue, and the ship reached orbital speed of roughly 17,500 mph. Payload reported that the ship no longer needed the lost engine to finish the climb.

Once in orbit, Starship released all 26 satellites over about 30 minutes through a slot in its side that works like a candy dispenser. Three carry cameras to photograph the ship's heat shield. Elon Musk said on X that all 26 were "operating nominally." SpaceX says one such launch carries roughly ten times the capacity of a Falcon 9 Starlink launch.

SpaceX had planned close to ten hours in orbit, but brought the ship home after less than two orbits, about three hours in total. NPR quoted a SpaceX update saying the flight was shortened "out of an abundance of caution given the engine issue." The ship splashed down in the Pacific north of Hawaii.

The Super Heavy booster did not return to the launch tower this time. It made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after liftoff, although Payload reported it again failed to relight all of its engines as planned.

Why it matters

Reaching orbit with a working payload turns Starship from a test vehicle into a launcher. SpaceX depends on it to loft the bigger V3 Starlinks, and NASA plans to use a version of Starship as a lunar lander for the Artemis program. Satellite operators and astronomers will also watch closely, since each flight can add dozens of new Starlink satellites to the night sky at once.

What comes next: catching and reusing the ship, not just the booster, is the big remaining goal. Musk has suggested the next flight could try to catch the ship with the launch tower's "chopsticks" arms.