SpaceX’s Starship has reached orbit for the first time, marking a significant test of the giant rocket’s planned role in NASA’s Artemis moon programme.
The 407ft (124-metre) spacecraft launched from the company’s Starbase site at the southern tip of Texas on Monday, carrying 26 Starlink satellites. It was intended to complete six circuits of Earth at an altitude of about 170 miles (275km) during a flight lasting almost 10 hours.
The mission came under pressure shortly after lift-off when one of Starship’s engines shut down earlier than planned. With the remaining engines operating and the failed engine no longer required, flight controllers decided to continue.
“Starship is orbital,” Mission Control announced, prompting cheers from the team.
The first-stage booster was not scheduled to return to the launch site. Instead, it was due to fall into the Gulf of Mexico within minutes of the launch, while the spacecraft was expected to end its flight with a splashdown in the Pacific near Chile.
The flight was Starship’s 14th full-scale launch in three years. Earlier tests travelled no farther than the Indian Ocean, with several ending in fiery crashes after briefly reaching space.
Starship’s next test will focus on recovery
SpaceX has taken a cautious approach to recovering the rocket, saying it wants to establish that the system is reliable before attempting a return to Starbase. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, has warned that debris falling over land could damage public support for the programme.
“That’s why we’re being extremely cautious here,” Mr Musk said earlier this month.
If the orbital mission proceeds as planned, a subsequent Starship will attempt to return to the launch pad, where giant mechanical arms are intended to catch the hovering spacecraft. Mr Musk has put the chances of a successful catch at even or slightly better odds, with a further flight possible by the end of the year or early next year.
Starship was designed to be fully reusable, with the aim of reducing launch costs. SpaceX recovered the previous spacecraft from the Indian Ocean in July and used inspections of it to modify the newly launched vehicle’s heat shield.
The company is seeking to qualify Starship for orbital operations as it develops plans for lunar and, eventually, Mars missions. NASA’s Artemis III mission could take place as soon as next summer and is expected to involve an Orion crew capsule linking up in Earth orbit with lunar landers.
Artemis IV, scheduled for no sooner than 2028, is intended to take astronauts to the Moon using either Starship or Blue Moon, the lander developed by Jeff Bezos’s company, depending on which vehicle is ready first.
Mr Musk initially developed Starship with Mars in mind. In the nearer term, SpaceX plans to use it to carry large numbers of satellites into orbit and gradually replace its Falcon 9 rocket, while a second Starship launch site is nearing completion at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre.
