SpaceX’s Starship reaches orbit for first time, deploys 26 Starlink satellites

Updated 18:03 WAT, 1 Oct 2026: This story has been corrected to include SpaceX’s explanation that it cut the flight short as a precaution after an engine problem during ascent, and that all 26 Starlink satellites have made contact.

SpaceX Starship, the largest rocket ever built, reached orbit for the first time on Monday, releasing 26 Starlink internet satellites before splashing down in the Pacific about three hours after launch from Texas.

The milestone matters far beyond Texas. Starship is the vehicle NASA is counting on to put astronauts back on the Moon. It is also how SpaceX plans to launch bigger Starlink satellites, the service that has become one of Nigeria’s largest internet providers.

The rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas at about 1:49pm WAT (12:49 GMT), according to Space.com and Spaceflight Now. Roughly 25 minutes later, mission control confirmed the upper stage, called Ship, was in orbit.

It was not a clean ride. One of Ship’s six Raptor engines shut down early during the climb, the Associated Press and Space.com reported. Flight controllers judged the remaining engines good enough and pressed on.

About 34 minutes into the flight, Ship began releasing 26 Starlink V3 satellites, and all were out within about half an hour. Three of them carried cameras to photograph Ship’s heat shield. SpaceX later said Starlink had made contact with all 26, Light Reading reported.

Each V3 satellite offers roughly one terabit per second of capacity, SiliconANGLE reported, while Spaceflight Now said that is ten times the previous generation. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk celebrated on X: “First orbital flight of Starship successful!”

Why did SpaceX cut the Starship flight short?

SpaceX had planned a flight of nearly ten hours and about six orbits, ending with a splashdown off Chile. Instead, after checking Ship’s health at its first orbital checkpoint, the team fired one engine at about 4pm WAT to bring it home early, Space.com reported.

Ship made a controlled, tail-first splashdown north of Hawaii at 4:57pm WAT, then tipped over and exploded as leftover propellant ignited, according to Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX explained the decision in its post-flight summary. “Out of an abundance of caution given the engine issue experienced during ascent, the flight control team decided to limit the duration spent on orbit and proceeded with deorbiting Starship to a splashdown location in the northern Pacific Ocean,” the company said, as quoted by NPR and Light Reading.

The Super Heavy booster, which also lost an engine, made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on X: “Gorgeous launch, getting Ship to orbit and managing every step in a safe, responsible, and especially inspirational way.”

What does the SpaceX Starship milestone mean for the Moon?

NASA picked a version of Starship as the lander that will carry astronauts down to the lunar surface. A crewed landing using it is targeted for 2028, Spaceflight Now reported.

Before then, SpaceX must prove it can refuel a Starship in orbit, a job that will need several tanker flights. The rocket stands 124 metres tall and is designed to be fully reusable, lifting more than 100 tonnes to orbit, according to Space.com.

Nigeria has a stake in that programme. In December 2022 it became one of the first two African countries, alongside Rwanda, to sign NASA’s Artemis Accords, the principles guiding the Moon missions.

What does it mean for Starlink users in Nigeria?

Starlink has grown quickly here. It had 98,642 active subscribers at the end of June 2026, second only to Spectranet’s 111,384 among internet service providers, according to NCC figures reported by Space in Africa and Innovation Village.

Starship is the rocket carrying the new V3 satellites, adding capacity to a network the AP says already has about 11,000 satellites in service. More capacity in orbit usually means less congestion for users, though any change to Nigerian prices would be a separate business decision.

For many Nigerians, cheaper data matters more than satellites. At home, the NCC’s free 100MB a day for learning scheme starts on 1 October.

What happens next

SpaceX plans to start launching Starship from Florida in late 2026 or early 2027, according to Spaceflight Now and SiliconANGLE. Before crews can fly, it still has to catch Ship with the launch tower, as it already does with boosters, and prove refuelling in orbit.

After 13 earlier test flights that stopped short of orbit, Starship has finally circled the planet. The next job is making that routine.