SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket entered orbit for the first time on Monday (September 28), despite one of its engines shutting down, overcoming the in-flight obstacle to deploy the first batch of new Starlink satellites, as Elon Musk’s company plans to put the vehicle into regular service by the end of this year. A few minutes ago, it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile, during which the rocket exploded. However, its mission, which had initially been scheduled to last 10 hours, was cut short to just three due to the engine problem, but was nevertheless successfully completed.

As Reuters reports, the unmanned vehicle, standing 40 stories tall and consisting of a “Super Heavy” booster rocket with the “Starship” upper stage on top, lifted off from SpaceX’s “Starbase” launch complex along the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville. The “Super Heavy” booster carried the “Starship” upper stage into space before returning to the waters of the Gulf for an engine-controlled splashdown, following two previous missions during which the booster had made hard landings.

Splashdown confirmed. Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the first orbital flight of Starship! pic.twitter.com/urjmiwnvNl

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 28, 2026

Around two million users on X tuned in to watch the rocket’s flight live via SpaceX’s official account. The space company published several impressive images from space. The explosion occurs at 3:44:17 in the broadcast.

The Unexpected Engine Problem with Starship

However, there were some unexpected developments. As soon as it reached space, one of Starship’s three main engines stopped working earlier than planned, prompting SpaceX representative Dan Huot to announce during the company’s live broadcast of the mission that the spacecraft would not be able to reach orbit. “The team decided not to attempt orbital insertion,” he said. However, he later revised that assessment following an update from engineers, who confirmed that the spacecraft could still attempt an engine burn that would send it into orbit—something Starship successfully achieved a few minutes later. Once in orbit, Starship began deploying 26 next-generation Starlink satellites one by one at a planned altitude of approximately 269 km.

Starship, which was built to launch SpaceX’s Starlink satellites more frequently and carry future NASA missions to the Moon, was expected to complete six orbits around Earth before splashing down.

Achieving orbit, a key milestone for any new rocket designed to carry payloads into space, was a long-delayed achievement for Starship. Musk had once predicted that it would be achieved in 2022, followed by satellite launches in 2023. Since 2023, however, all 13 previous Starship test flights had remained in suborbital space, despite an almost decade-long development campaign that has cost SpaceX more than $15 billion to date. Musk has said he ultimately envisions launching hundreds or thousands of Starships annually, an unprecedented launch rate for the space industry. “Starship is 2 to 3 years away from flights every hour,” Musk wrote on X on Sunday.

Starship’s 14th Flight and the New Starlink Satellite Network

Monday’s mission is technically considered Starship’s 14th test flight. However, it is carrying the new batch of Starlink internet satellites, which are likely worth millions of dollars, making it Starship’s first orbital payload.

Analysts estimate that Monday’s launch of SpaceX’s new V3 Starlink satellites represents hundreds of millions of dollars in projected revenue for the company’s Starlink division, based on the network’s additional customer capacity—underscoring Starship’s fundamental role in supporting the core of the company’s earnings.

According to SpaceX, the V3 Starlink satellites deployed on Monday’s mission can handle 10 times more data than their predecessors, the V2 mini-satellites, which the company launches 20 or 30 at a time using Falcon 9 rockets, its main launch vehicle. Seeking to expand its broadband satellite fleet at a faster pace, Musk wants to launch the higher-capacity V3 satellites in batches of 60 per launch once Starship enters regular service—an objective he is now aiming to achieve by the end of this year.

The planned orbital debut of Starship also comes three months after SpaceX went public in a record-breaking IPO (Initial Public Offering) in June, making it the sixth-most valuable company in the United States and turning Musk, who founded the company in 2002, into the world’s first trillionaire. Much of SpaceX’s market value and continued investor confidence in the company—which was valued at $2 trillion at Friday’s close—depends on the success of Starship, which was designed to become the world’s first fully reusable spacecraft.

The silver rocket with its many fins will be crucial to Musk’s ambitions to drastically reduce launch costs, significantly expand the Starlink business and develop thousands of orbital artificial intelligence data centers in space.

Starship is also expected to play a key role in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972 and establish a long-term presence on the Moon as a stepping stone toward the eventual human exploration of Mars.

A critical objective for Starship’s 14th mission will be surviving the return flight to Earth, beginning with firing a Raptor engine to leave orbit while in space and precisely adjusting the vehicle’s angle for atmospheric reentry.

The spacecraft’s final controlled descent is designed to culminate in a maneuver using its thrusters to rotate the vehicle into a vertical position so that it lands in the sea nose-up. While future missions will require Starship to perform a similar landing on land in Texas, recovery of the spacecraft is not planned for its final flight, contrary to Musk’s previous hopes.