SpaceX's Starship Completes Orbital Test Flight, Deploys New Starlink Satellites

<p>SpaceX's Starship rocket launched from South Texas early on September 28, 2026. This marked the 14th test flight of the rocket, which is noted as the world's most powerful launch vehicle. For this flight, the rocket's upper stage utilized its Raptor engines to reach orbital velocity.</p><p>In previous flights, SpaceX had limited the rocket's capabilities to achieve a suborbital trajectory, allowing Earth's gravity to bring the vehicle back before completing a full orbit. Following several successful suborbital flights, SpaceX officials opted for this launch to reach low-Earth orbit, which it successfully accomplished.</p><p>Additionally, the rocket carried 26 of SpaceX's latest generation of Starlink broadband satellites in its cargo bay. The satellites, which are too large for the Falcon 9 rocket, were deployed using a system of pulleys and cables that released them from the payload deployer.</p>