SpaceX sends Starship to orbit, deploys 26 Starlinks before early return

SpaceX launched Starship into orbit for the first time on Monday and deployed 26 of its most advanced Starlink satellites, before cutting the mission short as a safety measure after an engine shut down early in the flight. Despite the problem, flight controllers decided to continue after several tense minutes as the rest of the systems were working well.

The spacecraft re-entered over the Pacific and splashed down north of Hawaii about three hours after lift-off. SpaceX had planned a 10-hour mission with six full laps around Earth to demonstrate Starship's readiness for NASA's Artemis moon programme, but brought it back earlier after just a couple of orbits. Starship tipped over and burst into flames after splashdown.

As the spacecraft reached orbit, Mission Control announced, "Starship is orbital," drawing cheers. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on reaching orbit and "managing every step in a safe, responsible and especially inspirational way".

The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket, described by the company as the biggest and most powerful ever built, carried 26 of the latest Starlink satellites to join the 11,000 older models already providing internet service. The satellites were released one by one, prompting more cheers at the Starbase launch site.

SpaceX later said in an online update that the decision to end the flight early was taken "out of an abundance of caution" because of the early engine trouble. The mission was Starship's 14th full-scale launch from the southern tip of Texas in three years. Earlier test flights had gone no farther than the Indian Ocean, often ending in fiery crashes after briefly skimming space.

This time, SpaceX had aimed for Starship to circle the globe at an altitude of 170 miles (275 kilometres), travelling at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph), before splashing down near Chile. Although it reached the planned orbit, controllers chose the safer option and brought it down sooner. The first-stage booster had also not been meant to return to the launch site and fell into the Gulf of Mexico within minutes of the morning lift-off.

SpaceX has said it wants to make sure everything works before attempting to fly Starship back to Starbase. Elon Musk said earlier this month at a business summit that if the spacecraft broke apart over land and debris fell on people, "our popularity would diminish very rapidly". He added, "That's why we're being extremely cautious here." Depending on what is learnt from Monday's flight, the next Starship could be brought back to the launch pad, where giant mechanical arms would try to catch the hovering spacecraft. Musk said the chances of success were even or slightly better, and SpaceX would then try to fly the spacecraft again by the end of the year or early next year.

Starship was designed from the start to be fully reusable, which SpaceX sees as key to lowering launch costs. The company recovered the previous Starship from the Indian Ocean in July, and engineers modified the heat shield on the newly launched spacecraft after examining the recovered vehicle, which is being towed back to Starbase.

SpaceX is pushing to get Starship certified for orbital flight, an important step for future missions to the moon and Mars. NASA's Artemis III mission could take place as early as next summer and would involve a triple-launch docking exercise in Earth orbit between an Orion capsule carrying astronauts and competing lunar landers. Blue Moon, built by Jeff Bezos, would launch first, followed by Orion, and then Starship would dock with Orion once Blue Moon is released.

Artemis IV is scheduled no earlier than 2028 and would see astronauts land on the moon in either Blue Moon or Starship, depending on which is ready first. Later moon missions would alternate between the two landers. Musk originally developed Starship for Mars, with plans to launch many of them carrying the first settlers, but for now he wants to focus on the moon and on using Starship to carry satellites into orbit in large numbers as SpaceX works to phase out the Falcon 9 within the next few years. A second Starship launch site is nearing completion at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, and a third is planned for Louisiana. In short, Monday's mission gave SpaceX its first orbital Starship flight and a successful satellite deployment, even as it ended early to keep the mission safe.