SpaceX reaches Earth orbit for the first time with Starship and deploys Starlink satellites

The space company SpaceX has completed a successful flight in Earth orbit for the first time with its Starship rocket. The rocket took off from the Starbase spaceport in the US state of Texas on Monday.

There were 26 latest generation Starlink satellites on board, which were successfully deployed into space. The satellites are intended to complement the existing Starlink network, which already consists of around 11,000 units.

However, the test did not go completely according to plan. During the flight, one of the upper stage engines failed prematurely. Since the remaining systems were functioning and the engine in question was no longer needed to reach orbit, flight control continued the mission anyway. “Starship is in orbit,” mission control then announced to cheers from employees.

Originally, a ten-hour flight with six orbits of the Earth was planned to demonstrate the system's usability for NASA's Artemis lunar program. SpaceX spoke of an “exciting new phase” in the development of Starship.