Starship reportedly reaches orbit and deploys 26 Starlink V3 satellites
TechnologyUnverifiedUpdated:
Starship reportedly reached low-Earth orbit and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites on September 28. It was described as the first orbital deployment of this generation of commercial-grade satellites from Starship.
Flight 14 reaches orbital velocity
Ars Technica reported that Starship Flight 14 launched from Starbase, Texas, reached orbital velocity after a Raptor engine restart, and deployed 26 Starlink V3 broadband satellites. The report says SpaceX subsequently deorbited Starship for a Pacific Ocean splashdown after shortening its planned time in orbit following an engine issue during ascent.
According to the report, previous Starship flights used suborbital trajectories. A batch of Starlink V3 satellites flew on a July Starship mission but reentered and burned up after that suborbital flight.
The reported flight added an orbital insertion burn, then released 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit.
If accurate, the flight marks Starship’s reported transition from prior suborbital tests to orbital payload deployment. The Starlink V3 satellites are described as too large for Falcon 9 and as intended for SpaceX’s broadband network.
Sources
- Ars TechnicaSpaceX's Starship goes orbital, deploying first next-gen StarlinksRead source →