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STARBASE, Texas — SpaceX’s Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on Monday, September 28, completing Flight 14 and deploying the vehicle’s first operational satellite payload.

The 124-meter Super Heavy–Starship stack lifted off from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at 7:48:59 a.m. CDT. Super Heavy Booster 21 ignited its 33 Raptor 3 engines and climbed over the Gulf. One booster engine shut down during ascent; the remaining engines carried the vehicle through hot-staging. Starship Ship 41 then ignited its six Raptors. One vacuum engine cut off early, but the ship compensated by burning the remaining engines longer and later received a “go” for orbital operations.

A single sea-level Raptor performed the first Starship orbital insertion burn, placing Ship 41 into a roughly 275-kilometer orbit. About 34 minutes after liftoff the payload door opened and all 26 Starlink V3 satellites—Starlink Group 31-1, including three with cameras to image the heat shield—were deployed. SpaceX later confirmed contact with every satellite.

Out of caution after the engine anomaly, mission control shortened the planned ~10-hour, six-orbit profile. Ship 41 executed its first deorbit burn and reentered, then performed a landing flip and three-engine landing burn before splashing down on target in the northern Pacific after about three hours and eight minutes. Super Heavy had already completed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about seven minutes after liftoff; its flight-termination system was then triggered as a demonstration.

The flight marked Starship’s first sustained orbit, first operational payload delivery, and longest mission to date, even though it ended earlier than the original timeline.

A Cosmic Chronicles journalist was among the crowds who gathered at public viewing sites on South Padre Island, about 5 miles across the water from the pad. From Isla Blanca Park and the south-end beaches they recorded video and stills of the dawn ascent: the stacked vehicle rising against a pale Gulf sky, the Raptor plume blooming into a vast orange-and-gold column that reflected on the lagoon, and the booster’s distant boostback trail fading over the water (watch the video below).

Beautiful Starship Flight 14
Congrats SpaceX @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/Fz0FyPolzc

— Evelyn Janeidy (@JaneidyEve) September 28, 2026

In the footage the flame and expanding vapor take on the layered color and texture of an oil painting—thick strokes of fire against cool morning blue and orange sunrise glow. The stills freeze the same moment: stainless-steel gleam, incandescent exhaust, and the low coastal light that turns the entire scene into something closer to canvas than news photography (pictured below).

Flight 14 leaves SpaceX with orbital insertion, successful payload deploy, and a controlled deorbit and splashdown now demonstrated. Return-to-launch-site catch attempts remain targeted for later flights.

Beautiful scenes of SpaceX Starship Flight 14, it looks like an art painting but it is real life! @elonmusk https://t.co/pcptuDNAW7 pic.twitter.com/Jks0SoJv14

— Evelyn Janeidy (@JaneidyEve) September 28, 2026

Author’s note: Thanks for reading Cosmic Chronicles. Write your thoughts in the comment section below. If you have story suggestions or feedback, Direct Message me on social media 𝕏: Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo @JaneidyEve. Read the most recent stories featured below. Thank You.