by Tan Jingjing
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- SpaceX's Starship spacecraft reached orbit for the first time on Monday and deployed 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites before ending its test mission earlier than planned following an engine issue during ascent.
The rocket lifted off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in the U.S. state of Texas at about 7:48 a.m. Central Time (1248 GMT).
During the initial ascent, Starship and its Super Heavy booster continued through stage separation and hot staging before the booster began its return to the Gulf of Mexico.
About seven minutes after liftoff, the Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico.
After separation from the booster, one of Starship's Raptor engines shut down prematurely during the ascent burn, SpaceX said.
After Starship entered a suborbital trajectory, the flight control team reassessed the vehicle and determined that it could still proceed with orbital operations. The team then gave a "go" for the orbit-insertion burn.
Starship subsequently performed an orbit insertion burn and reached orbit for the first time.
After a brief coast, Starship deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites, marking the first deployment of the next-generation satellites into orbit by Starship.
SpaceX said it soon established contact with the satellites through laser links, ground stations and Starlink user terminals. The satellites will conduct on-orbit checkouts and raise their orbits before beginning service for customers.
Following payload deployment, Starship entered a coast phase around Earth. Given the engine issue experienced during ascent, the flight control team, "out of an abundance of caution," decided to limit the time spent in orbit and proceeded with the vehicle's deorbit burn, according to SpaceX.
Starship successfully reentered the atmosphere and descended to its planned splashdown area in the northern Pacific Ocean.
This was the 14th integrated flight test of the Starship system and the first Starship flight to achieve orbit. The previous 13 flight tests followed suborbital trajectories, according to SpaceX.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on X that Starship's first orbital flight was "successful."
Starship is being developed as a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Its lunar-lander variant, known as the Starship Human Landing System, is being developed to transport astronauts to and from the lunar surface as part of NASA's Artemis program. ■
