SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit For First Time

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship megarocket has reached orbit for the first time, marking a major milestone in the company’s plans for future missions to the Moon and Mars.

The black-and-silver spacecraft, which stands more than 120 metres tall, lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas on Monday during its 14th test flight.

About 26 minutes after launch, the Starship upper stage separated from its Super Heavy booster and reached orbit.

“Starship is orbital,” a member of the launch team announced as cheers erupted at the SpaceX control centre.

The experimental flight is expected to last about 10 hours, during which the upper stage will orbit Earth several times and deploy 26 next-generation Starlink satellites.

The spacecraft was initially placed on a suborbital trajectory as a precaution. The launch team later carried out a second engine burn to place it into orbit.

Satellite deployment began shortly afterwards.

Previous Starship tests were conducted on less demanding suborbital trajectories and ended with several failures, including spectacular explosions.

28,000km/h

The latest test is aimed at accelerating the development of Starship, which SpaceX describes as the most powerful rocket ever designed.

SpaceX began full-scale Starship flight tests in 2023 and has made numerous modifications to the rocket following the successes and failures of previous missions.

However, significant technical challenges remain before Starship can conduct commercial flights, deploy data centres in orbit or carry out missions to the Moon and Mars.

SpaceX also hopes to use the latest phase of testing to develop technologies for refuelling Starship while it is in orbit.

Kathleen Curlee, a senior analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, said the second engine burn was one of the most challenging parts of the mission because it required more complex calculations and exposed the rocket to different gravitational forces.

SpaceX is targeting a circular orbit about 275 kilometres above Earth, requiring the spacecraft to reach a speed of about 28,000 kilometres per hour.

Once in orbit, Starship began deploying next-generation Starlink satellites designed to expand SpaceX’s satellite internet network.

Starship’s Next Steps

The mission plan calls for Starship to orbit Earth six times before ending its journey in the Pacific Ocean.

The Super Heavy booster fell into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after launch.

Curlee said the successful flight and the data collected during the mission would provide important information for the continued development of the spacecraft.

However, she noted that public and investor expectations were likely to be higher because of the highly visible nature of the programme.

Starship’s development has faced repeated delays, while companies in other countries, including China, have also made progress in developing reusable rockets.

SpaceX remains a major player in the global launch market through its partially reusable Falcon rockets and has continued to pursue an aggressive testing strategy for Starship.

The company is expected to conduct three other rocket launches during the same week, including one carrying astronauts to the International Space Station.