Starship reached orbit for the first time and released 26 Starlink satellites too big for the Falcon 9. An engine failure cut the flight from ten hours to three

The stories

11 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   Starship reached orbit for the first time and released 26 Starlink satellites too big for the Falcon 9. An engine failure cut the flight from ten hours to three

   26 of 60

   V3 satellites on this flight, out of the 60 a Starship will be able to carry

   SpaceX wants to launch them 60 at a time once Starship flies routinely [1][2]

   3 of 10 hours

   how long the flight lasted, against the plan

   SpaceX cut it short after the engine problem and brought the ship down near Hawaii [2][4]

   2 tonnes

   the weight of one Starlink V3, about twice an older Starlink

   it is too big for the Falcon 9, so only Starship can carry it [7]

   $15bn+

   what SpaceX has spent on Starship in nearly ten years of work

   Musk once predicted it would reach orbit in 2022 [2]

   What happened

   • SpaceX's Starship reached orbit for the first time on Monday 28 September, on its 14th test flight from Starbase in south Texas. [1][6]
   • On the way up, one of the six engines on Starship's upper stage, called the ship, shut down early. [3][4]
   • SpaceX's commentator Dan Huot first said the team would not try for orbit.
   • Minutes later, the flight controllers changed their minds. [2][6]
   • They went ahead because the engine they needed to bring the ship back down was still working. [3][5]
   • One engine then fired for 19 seconds, about 25 minutes after liftoff, and put the ship in orbit about 276 km up. [3][6]
   • The ship let out 26 Starlink V3 internet satellites, one by one, over about half an hour. [1][3][6]
   • Each V3 weighs about 2 tonnes, twice an older Starlink, and is too big to fit inside SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. [3][7]
   • SpaceX says each V3 adds about 1 terabit per second of internet capacity, ten times as much as one of its older satellites. [3]
   • Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder, wrote that all 26 were working normally. [2]
   • The flight was planned to last about ten hours.
   • SpaceX cut it to about three after the engine problem, and the ship splashed down in the Pacific north of Hawaii. [2][4]
   • As expected, the ship tipped over and exploded when it hit the sea.
   • SpaceX had not planned to recover it. [2][3]
   • The Super Heavy booster, Starship's lower stage, made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, after hard landings on the two flights before.
   • Two of its 33 engines failed on the way. [2][3]
   • NASA plans to land astronauts on the Moon with a version of Starship, and that needs fuel moved between ships in orbit, which no Starship has tried yet. [3][4][8]

   26 of 60

   Starlink V3 satellites per Starship flight

   Who is involved

   • SpaceX Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company; it builds Starship and runs Starlink, its internet satellites
   • Dan Huot SpaceX's spokesman on the launch broadcast; he called off the try for orbit, then called it back on
   • The FAA the US regulator that licenses launches; it said everything stayed within what it had approved, so no formal inquiry is needed [3]
   • NASA the US space agency; it plans to land astronauts on the Moon in a version of Starship or in Blue Origin's lander, whichever is ready first [5]

   How it unfolded

   1. 2023 Starship's first test flight; the next 12 also fall back to Earth before one full lap [2][3]
   2. July Flight 13 carries V3 satellites on a falling path, and they burn up soon after [3]
   3. 28 Sept, 12:48 GMT Flight 14 lifts off from Starbase, Texas [6]
   4. About 25 minutes in a 19-second engine firing puts the ship in orbit [3][6]
   5. About 34 minutes in the first of 26 V3 satellites is let out [6]
   6. 15:57 GMT splashdown in the Pacific north of Hawaii, about seven hours early [2][3]

   Why it matters

   Watch whether SpaceX tries to catch the ship with the launch tower's arms, a step it says may come on the next flight, which an FAA schedule suggests could fly in October. [3][8]

   The truth

   • What is really going on SpaceX is moving its business onto Starship, and its new Starlink satellites cannot fly on anything else. [3][5][7]
   • Who gains SpaceX — Each V3 satellite adds about ten times the capacity of an older one. [3] Analysts cited by Reuters estimate Monday's launch is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in expected Starlink sales. [2]
   • Who pays SpaceX's engine team — Its Raptor 3 engine had trouble on each of the three flights that used it, and Musk says the design makes some parts harder to replace. [3]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Why one of the ship's engines shut down, and whether it slows the next flight.

     SpaceX has had engine trouble on all three flights of its newest engine, the Raptor 3. [3] None of the reports we read gives a cause for Monday's failure, and the FAA says no formal inquiry is needed. [3]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Which engine failed, and how high the ship flew.

     Reuters says one of the ship's three main engines stopped, and puts the orbit about 269 km up. [2] Ars Technica and Spaceflight Now say one of its six engines, and Ars puts the orbit about 276 km up. [3][4] The ship carries two kinds of engine, three of each. [8]

   • Nobody knows yet

     Which lander takes astronauts to the Moon's surface first.

     NASA picked both Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon, and the first landing, Artemis IV, is to use whichever is ready first. [5][6]

   Good news

   • Starship reached orbit on its 14th flight, and SpaceX said all 26 of the new Starlink satellites it let out were working.

1. 02

   Starliner to fly again, empty first

   What happened

   • NASA and Boeing plan to fly Starliner, Boeing's crew capsule, to the space station with nobody aboard in December or January. [9][12]
   • If that works, a crew led by astronaut Woody Hoburg would follow in mid-2028. [9]
   • Starliner's only crewed flight, in June 2024, went wrong: leaking helium and failing thrusters kept its two astronauts on the station for 286 days. [9][13]
   • NASA will pay Boeing $359 million to rebuild the thrusters and certify the Vulcan rocket, made by United Launch Alliance, for crews. [10]
   • It also ordered two more flights, making six. [10]

   123

   2,0242,0272,029

   1. 1Crew test goes wrong2,024
   2. 2Empty test flight2,027
   3. 3First crew flight2,029

   Why it matters

   SpaceX plans to retire its Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket, so NASA is paying to keep a second way for astronauts to reach orbit. [9][11]

   NASA says it will buy at least one crew flight to low orbit every six months into the 2030s, and would welcome a third capsule. [11]

   The truth

   • What is really going on NASA is paying Boeing $359 million to get Starliner flying again, because SpaceX plans to retire the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket that NASA's astronauts ride today. [9][10]
   • Who gains Boeing — NASA will pay it $359 million to rebuild Starliner's thrusters and certify the Vulcan rocket, and ordered two more flights. [10]
   • Who gains United Launch Alliance, Boeing and Lockheed Martin's rocket company — Its Vulcan rocket is to be certified to carry astronauts, with NASA paying part of the cost, for Starliner's fifth and sixth flights. [10][12]
   • Who pays NASA — It adds $359 million on top of the $5.1 billion it had already paid Boeing under a fixed-price contract. [10]
   • Who pays Boeing — It has lost more than $2 billion on Starliner, and its first new crew flight is now mid-2028. [9][10]
   • Nobody knows yet

     When Starliner will be certified to carry crews.

     Not all of the fixes will be tested on the empty flight in December or January, which is why the first crew waits until 2028. [12] Its fifth and sixth flights need a new rocket, the Vulcan, which is not yet certified for crews. [12]

   Good news

   • NASA says the causes of Starliner's helium leaks and thruster failures have been found, and Boeing has already fitted new seals on the next capsule.
2. 03

   The space station's big robot arm is stuck

   What happened

   • Canadarm2, the 58-foot (about 18-metre) robot arm outside the International Space Station, stopped moving after a routine move, Ars Technica reported on Monday. [14]
   • The rail cart that carries it along the station's main beam froze too. [14]
   • On Sunday evening engineers were still checking whether the fault was in the software or the hardware. [14]
   • The Canadian company MDA built the arm, which went up in 2001 on a design life of 15 years. [14]

   15 yearsDesigned to last

   vsvs

   25 yearsCanadarm2 so far

   Why it matters

   Two cargo ships, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus and Japan's HTV-X, cannot dock by themselves and need the arm to catch them. [14]

   SpaceX's Dragon docks on its own, but SpaceX plans to retire it within four years. [14]

   The truth

   • Who pays Cargo ships that cannot dock by themselves — Northrop Grumman's Cygnus and Japan's HTV-X need the station's robot arm to catch them, and the arm is stuck. [14]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether the space station's robot arm can be fixed.

     On Sunday evening engineers still did not know whether the fault was in the software or the hardware. [14] Ars Technica says it is too early to tell whether it can be repaired. [14]

3. 04

   US gets room to grow its space base in Greenland

   What happened

   • President Trump and the leaders of Denmark and Greenland signed a defence deal at the UN in New York on 22 September. [16][18]
   • It lets the US expand Pituffik Space Base in the north-west, which supports missile warning, missile defence and watching space for the US and NATO. [16][17]
   • It also allows new US sites at Narsarsuaq in the south and Mestersvig in the east. [16]
   • The text names Golden Dome, Trump's planned missile-defence shield, as one way the US may help defend the region. [17]

   17US bases in 1945

   ↓→

   1US bases today

   ↓→

   3US sites under the deal

   Why it matters

   The deal mentions Golden Dome only once and makes no concrete proposal, the BBC reported, and Denmark's prime minister said nothing about its details had been decided. [16][17]

   About 200 US soldiers are at Pituffik today, down from thousands of soldiers on 17 bases and sites in 1945. [17]

   Greenland stays part of Denmark, and no country outside NATO may put forces there. [16]

   The truth

   • Who gains The US military — The Greenland deal lets it expand Pituffik Space Base and open two more sites, and names Golden Dome missile defence as one use. [16][17]
   • Who pays Countries outside NATO, such as Russia and China — The Greenland deal bars any non-NATO country from setting up military sites or keeping forces there. [16][17]
   • Nobody knows yet

     What Golden Dome will actually put in Greenland.

     The deal mentions Golden Dome only once and contains no concrete proposal, the BBC reported. [16] Denmark's prime minister said no decision had been made on its details. [17]

4. 05

   Britain sets up a squadron to counter threats in orbit

   What happened

   • Britain's Royal Air Force is forming No.
   • III Space Effects Squadron to disrupt, degrade and deny hostile activity against UK interests in space. [21]
   • Its head, Air Chief Marshal Harvey Smyth, described it at a conference in London on 23 September. [21]
   • He said Britain is building ways to fight in orbit, such as jamming signals and countering weapons that attack satellites, but gave no details. [21]
   • He said five Russian military satellites had moved close enough to reach two Finnish commercial ones quickly. [21]
   • It is one of six space squadrons Britain plans. [21]

   Why it matters

   Bleddyn Bowen, a Durham University expert, said it probably resembles a US jammer that blocks a satellite's signals without damaging it, and whose effects can be switched off. [21]

   The RAF is moving from only watching space to trying to control it. [21]

5. 06

   Juice swings past Earth toward Jupiter

   What happened

   • Juice, the European Space Agency's probe to Jupiter's icy moons, passed 8,640 km above the Indian Ocean on Monday 28 September. [19]
   • The pass was planned to bend its path by about 20 degrees and add about 3.5 km per second to its speed. [19]
   • It launched in April 2023 and swung past the Moon and Earth in 2024 and Venus in 2025. [19]
   • One more pass of Earth, in January 2029, is left before it reaches Jupiter in 2031. [19][20]

   Why it matters

   Borrowing speed from planets saves the fuel Juice needs to slow down at Jupiter, and later at its moon Ganymede in 2034. [19]

   On the way past, it was also set to take pictures of Earth and measure its magnetic field. [20]

   Good news

   • Juice, Europe's probe to Jupiter, passed 8,640 km above the Indian Ocean and picked up speed for the rest of its trip.

1. 07

   A satellite company splits from SpinLaunch

   What happened

   • Meridian Space has split from SpinLaunch, a California start-up building a machine to fling payloads toward space, Payload reported on 28 September. [22]
   • Meridian takes the satellite-internet business, and SpinLaunch keeps the launch work. [22]
   • Meridian's antenna, called a reflect-array, uses less power, so its satellites can be smaller and lighter. [22]
   • Its long-term plan is flat satellites, so that a whole network of more than 250 can go up on one dedicated launch. [22]

   Why it matters

   Its first test satellite flies on SpaceX's Transporter-18 shared launch, due no earlier than 1 October. [22]

   It is aimed at governments and regional firms that want their own network instead of renting SpaceX's Starlink or Amazon's Leo, and says it can build one for under $1 billion. [22]

   How it works

   A satellite's size is set by the rocket that carries it

   A rocket's cargo space has a fixed size. It limits a satellite's solar panels and antennas, and those set how much the satellite can do.

   The twist

   Starship does more than carry more satellites. Each V3 is bigger, so it unfolds bigger solar panels and antennas, and SpaceX says it moves about ten times the data of an older Starlink.

   The picture

   Older Starlink, fits a Falcon 91 x

   Starlink V3, needs Starship10 x

   Step by step

   1. 1 A rocket's cargo space has a fixed width, height and weight limit
   2. 2 A satellite must fold up small enough to fit inside it
   3. 3 Its solar panels and antennas can only be as big as that space allows
   4. 4 Bigger panels make more power, and bigger antennas move more data
   5. 5 So a bigger rocket lets each satellite do more, and a small shared ride means a small, low-power satellite

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • A satellite company splits from SpinLaunch

     Meridian goes the other way and shrinks the satellite: a low-power antenna lets it build smaller, lighter, flat satellites, so a whole network of more than 250 can go up on one launch.

   • An Indian satellite that does its sums in orbit

     MOI-1A is a small satellite, under 50 kg, on a shared ride, and it has about 150 watts, enough for small chips but not data-centre ones.

   • A test of beaming power between satellites

     Star Catcher starts from the same limit, small panels and little power, and plans to beam extra light onto a satellite's panels from outside.

   Where you've seen this

   Flat-pack furniture

   a wardrobe is designed to come apart into a box that fits in a car

   Cabin bags

   bag makers build to the airline's size limit, so most cabin bags come out as almost identical boxes

   Lorries

   a lorry is as wide as road rules allow, and that width sets how much it carries

   The catch

   Size is not the only way to more power or data. Better electronics can do more in the same space, which is what Meridian says its antenna does.

   And the whole of it

   Everyone who uses a weather forecast, a phone map or an internet link at sea relies on satellites whose size was set by a rocket chosen years earlier. The engineers who build them rarely get to pick that size. The people who use them never see the rocket that decided it.

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Transporter-18 flies on 1 October.

     Three of today's stories share that one launch: Meridian's first satellite, Star Catcher's Protostar and TakeMe2Space's MOI-1A. [22][26][27] Payload gives its date only as no earlier than 1 October. [22]

1. 08

   An Indian satellite that does its sums in orbit

   What happened

   • TakeMe2Space, an Indian start-up, plans to launch MOI-1A, a satellite under 50 kg carrying Nvidia computer chips, on SpaceX's Transporter-18 on 1 October, Reuters reported. [27]
   • Customers upload their own AI programs, which study a chosen area and send down only the answer, not the raw data. [27]
   • It says 23 customers have signed, in farming, mining, supply chains and insurance. [27]
   • Its last satellite, MOI-1, was lost when a rocket's third stage failed. [27]

   MOI-1Aunder 50 kg

   ↓→

   Power on boardabout 150 W

   ↓→

   What it can runsmall chips

   Why it matters

   Downloading raw data costs customers money, so doing the sums in orbit can save them more than the extra they pay, says its founder, Ronak Samantray. [27]

   With about 150 watts of power, it runs small chips, not the data-centre chips SpaceX and Starcloud plan to fly. [27]

   How it works

   MOI-1A is a small satellite, under 50 kg, on a shared ride, and it has about 150 watts, enough for small chips but not data-centre ones.

   The idea, in story 07: A satellite's size is set by the rocket that carries it →
2. 09

   A test of beaming power between satellites

   What happened

   • Star Catcher, a start-up that wants to sell power to satellites by beaming light onto their solar panels, says its test craft Protostar is ready for SpaceX's Transporter-18. [26]
   • In orbit it will release a small test satellite, track it and beam power onto its ordinary panels. [26]
   • It would be the first time power has been beamed between two separate spacecraft, Payload reported. [26]
   • Last November it sent more than 1.1 kilowatts to solar panels on the ground at the Kennedy Space Center. [26]

   Why it matters

   It claims its beam could let a satellite make two to ten times more power with no new hardware. [26]

   It has 10 public deals to sell power, with satellite companies such as Starcloud and Loft Orbital. [26]

   How it works

   Star Catcher starts from the same limit, small panels and little power, and plans to beam extra light onto a satellite's panels from outside.

   The idea, in story 07: A satellite's size is set by the rocket that carries it →
3. 10

   Smashed icy moons can keep their oceans

   What happened

   • Computer simulations led by Marc Neveu of the University of Maryland suggest a large icy moon smashed by a giant collision can pull itself back together and keep an ocean under its ice. [25]
   • Moons smaller than about 1,000 km across were unlikely to keep an ocean after such a crash. [25]
   • In bigger moons, the heat of the crash could even thicken the ocean for a couple of billion years. [25]
   • A crash could not create an ocean where there was none. [25]

   Why it matters

   Oceans under ice, like the one thought to lie inside Jupiter's moon Europa, are places where life might be possible. [25]

   Juice, which passed Earth on Monday, is going to study the hidden oceans of Jupiter's icy moons. [20]

4. 11

   Mars may have buried its carbon rocks

   What happened

   • A study led by Chang-Chin Wang of JAXA, Japan's space agency, suggests groundwater on early Mars carried carbonate minerals deep underground. [31]
   • That could explain why orbiters and rovers find so few on the surface. [31]
   • A planet with rivers, lakes and a thick carbon dioxide air should have made plenty of them. [31]
   • In the team's computer models, groundwater dissolved carbonates near the surface and left them again deeper down. [31]

   Why it matters

   If the carbonates lie underground, drilling into feldspar-rich ground, a very common kind of rock, could find a record of Mars' wetter past. [31]

   The same drills might reach water that sank underground as Mars dried out. [31]