SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on a historic test flight early Monday from its Starbase facility in South Texas. Lifting off at 7:48 a.m. local time, the vehicle entered orbit for the first time during its 14th test flight. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the largest and most powerful rocket ever built.
During the flight, Starship deployed 26 of the latest version of Starlink satellites. While previous flights had reached 99 percent of the way to low-Earth orbit, Monday's mission successfully added the final distance to reach orbit. The upper stage returned to the Pacific Ocean a little over three hours later, which was ahead of schedule.
Reaching orbit is a critical step toward SpaceX's commercial success and NASA's plans to land humans on the moon. The company is pressing to certify Starship for orbital flight to enable long-term goals of sending people to the moon and Mars. However, despite achieving the long-promised orbit, the flight was not a complete success.