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SpaceX Starship completes first orbital flight with 6 Earth orbits and 26 Starlink satellites

SpaceX’s Starship completes its first orbital flight, circling Earth six times and deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites in a historic milestone.

SpaceX Starship completes first orbital flight with 6 Earth orbits and 26 Starlink satellites
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From suborbital tests to its first true orbital flight — Starship has made the leap, with SpaceX completing one of the most significant milestones in the giant spacecraft’s history on Monday, September 28. The rocket lifted off at 3:48 p.m. Greek time from Starbase in South Texas, marking a fundamental shift from the previous 13 flights: this time, Starship attempted to reach the speed required to sustain orbit around Earth — approximately 28,000 kilometers per hour — while the Flight 14 mission plan included six orbits and the deployment of 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites. Standing at approximately 124 meters tall in its fully stacked configuration, Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It consists of the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft, both of which are fully reusable. The Starship upper stage itself measures 52 meters in height, and today’s flight marks its 14th test since April 2023.

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SpaceX: The goals of Starship’s first orbital flight

During Flight 14, Starship attempted six orbits around Earth while simultaneously deploying 26 Starlink Version 3 satellites — the first of their kind intended to form part of a new large constellation in low Earth orbit. Nearly ten hours after launch, the spacecraft is expected to return to Earth and perform a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile. The Super Heavy booster followed a different trajectory, completing its portion of the mission approximately seven minutes after liftoff with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

The significance of this test lies in the fact that all previous Starship flights were suborbital — meaning the vehicle reached space but never achieved the velocity needed to sustain orbit. Flight 14 puts the vehicle through an entirely different set of conditions over a far longer duration, with the return to Earth scheduled nearly ten hours after launch.



The next milestones before crewed missions

This first orbital flight does not, however, complete all the tests required before Starship can achieve its long-term objectives. SpaceX must still demonstrate the ability to safely transfer propellant between spacecraft while in orbit, as future missions to the Moon and Mars will require multiple refueling operations from dedicated tanker spacecraft. Additionally, Starship will need a fully operational life support system before it can carry crew.

NASA has selected Starship as the first crewed lunar lander for its Artemis program, with the goal of returning humans to the Moon in 2028 as part of the Artemis IV mission. Flight 14 therefore represents a critical test of whether Starship can leave its experimental phase behind and advance toward systematic deep-space exploration.

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