SpaceX Starship reaches orbit, returns early
The gist
SpaceX's Starship reached orbit for the first time on Sept 28, then returned early.
The milestone advances reusability and refueling needed for moon and Mars plans.
How it unfolded
- Sep 28, 2026Starship Flight 14 lifted off from Starbase, Texas; reports give liftoff times of 7:48 a.m. local, 8:33 a.m. and 8:49 a.m. EDT.
- Sep 28, 2026One of the six Raptor engines on the upper stage shut down early during ascent, initially placing the vehicle on a suborbital trajectory.
- Sep 28, 2026Controllers polled "go" for the orbital insertion burn; a single engine fired for a few seconds and pushed the ship into orbit, a first for Starship.