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SpaceX Starship (Ship 41) splashes down in the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii after completing the rocket's first successful orbital flight, September 28, 2026
Photo: ABC News

Starship Reaches Orbit for First Time With 26 Starlink Satellites

CNBC2 min read7 sources

Why did SpaceX Starship reach orbit for the first time?

SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on Monday, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites from 275 km up, despite losing one Raptor engine during ascent on Flight 14.

Key numbers

Starlink V3 satellites deployed26first operational Starship payload; all 26 confirmed contact post-deployment
Network bandwidth added26 Tbps~10x a single Falcon 9 Starlink V2 mini launch
Orbital altitude~275 km32° inclination; Starlink Group 31-1 deployment orbit
Mission duration3 hrs 9 mincut short from planned ~10 hrs following engine fault caution
Starship payload to LEO (reusable)100 tvs Falcon 9 ~7.5 t in reusable Starlink mission mode
Raptor engine shortfall1 of 6 failedRaptor vacuum engine shut down mid-ascent; orbit achieved on remaining 5

What happened

SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on Monday, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites from 275 km up, despite losing one Raptor engine during ascent on Flight 14. Ship 41 lifted off at 12:48 UTC from Starbase, Texas atop Booster 21, the most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit. Mission controllers spent roughly 22 minutes assessing the engine fault before clearing the vehicle for orbital insertion. All 26 satellites were released — adding 26 Tbps of bandwidth, about 10 times a single Falcon 9 Starlink launch — before Ship 41 de-orbited and splashed down in the Pacific after 3 hours 9 minutes.

Why it matters

Starship is the first rocket to carry over 100 tonnes to orbit in one trip — up to 20 times Falcon 9's roughly 7,500 kg payload in reusable mode — and that capability gap could push launch costs from about $2,700 per kilogram today toward $100. That pricing shift threatens every rival launch provider and makes a crewed Mars mission financially credible for the first time. For investors, the key question is which public space companies — led by Rocket Lab — can survive as SpaceX rewrites launch economics.

Who this affects

Marketbullish
High impact
Space economy stocks repriced higher on landmark launch success.
Companybullish
High impact
SpaceX validates commercial payload model; Starlink revenue path secured.
Competitorsbearish
High impact
Rocket Lab, Northrop Grumman face intensifying launch pricing pressure.
Industrybullish
High impact
Launch cost floor shifts sharply toward $100 per kilogram.

SpaceX vs Rocket Lab, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin

SpaceXprivate————
Rocket LabRKLB:NASDAQ$43.2B-2.4%—3208x
Northrop GrummanNOC:NYSE$71.9B-0.9%—17x
Lockheed MartinLMT:NYSE$121.0Bflat+7.9%—

As of 2026-09-28

How we got here

  1. Flight 1 first integrated launch; vehicle destroyed ~4 min after liftoff

  2. Flight 4 first mission where both stages splashdown successfully

  3. Flight 5 Super Heavy Booster caught by Mechazilla tower arms

  4. Flight 14 first orbital insertion; 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed

What to watch

  • FAA license expansion for higher Starship launch cadence from StarbaseQ4 2026
  • Flight 15 targeting first Ship upper-stage catch and rapid reuse turnaroundQ1 2027
  • NASA Artemis III HLS contract milestone requiring Starship orbital refueling demo2027

Educational content only. Not investment advice.

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