SpaceX’s Starship has reached Earth orbit for the first time, marking a major milestone for Elon Musk’s space company and its plans for the massive spacecraft.
The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s launch site in southern Texas at around 7:46 a.m. CT (12:46 GMT) on Monday. The uncrewed vehicle, described by SpaceX as the “biggest and most powerful” rocket ever built, successfully entered orbit during its latest test flight.
A nearly 10-hour trip around Earth
The mission was planned to send Starship around Earth six times during a flight lasting nearly 10 hours. It was expected to travel at an altitude of roughly 170 miles (275 km) before a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Chile.
The vehicle is made up of two major sections: the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft positioned on top. Together, the system stands about 40 storeys tall.
Reaching orbit represents an important step for Starship, which has been under development for years. The spacecraft had not achieved an orbital flight during its previous test attempts.
26 Starlink satellites aboard
One of the notable parts of the mission was the presence of 26 Starlink satellites. SpaceX intended to deploy the satellites in orbit, adding to the company’s existing Starlink network.
The company plans to use Starship to launch Starlink satellites more frequently. The spacecraft is also being developed for future missions involving astronauts and cargo, including NASA’s Moon missions.
A milestone after years of development
Starship’s first orbital flight comes after a long development programme. Musk had previously predicted that Starship would reach orbit in 2022, with satellite deployments expected in 2023.
Since 2023, the spacecraft’s previous 13 test flights had remained suborbital. Estimates cited in the provided material put SpaceX’s spending on the programme at more than $15 billion.
The latest flight therefore represents a significant change in the test programme, with Starship finally demonstrating its ability to reach Earth orbit.
Musk’s much larger Starship ambition
The orbital milestone is part of a much bigger plan for Starship. SpaceX intends to use the spacecraft for repeated satellite launches as well as future human and cargo missions.
Musk has also said he wants SpaceX to eventually launch hundreds or even thousands of Starships each year. Such an operating scale would be unprecedented in the space industry.
For now, the first successful orbital flight gives SpaceX a key milestone to build on as it continues developing Starship for satellite deployment, lunar missions and other planned uses.
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