# SpaceX Reaches Orbit After Starship 14th Launch

> SpaceX's Starship rocket reaches Earth orbit on its 14th test flight after a tense moment with flight controllers.
- Title: SpaceX Reaches Orbit After Starship 14th Launch · PCMAG
- Summary: SpaceX's Starship rocket reaches Earth orbit on its 14th test flight after a tense moment with flight controllers. SpaceX successfully reached Earth orbit…
- Keywords: spacex, starship, starlink, orbit, test flight, falcon 9, blue origin, artemis, lunar lander, nasa, technology, Reaches
- Source: PCMAG — https://pcmag.com/news/after-one-hiccup-spacex-reaches-orbit-with-starships-14th-launch
- Author: Rob Pegoraro
- Published: 2026-09-28T19:09:38+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: spacex, starship, starlink, orbit, test flight, falcon 9, blue origin, artemis, lunar lander, nasa, technology
## Starship reaches orbit
SpaceX's Starship rocket reached Earth orbit on its 14th launch after a rocky start.
## Flight controllers delay orbit attempt
Flight controllers initially waved off the orbital insertion burn due to an early engine shutdown.
## Engine shutdown causes delay
One of six upper-stage engines shut down early, requiring a re-evaluation of the orbit plan.
## Flight controllers reset orbit plan
After a brief pause, flight controllers confirmed the vehicle was ready for orbit after reviewing data.
## Starship reaches orbit
The vehicle reached an orbit of about 173 miles after a 19-second burn of one of its six methane-fueled Raptor engines.
## Starlink satellites deployed
Starship deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites to add capacity to the low-Earth-orbit broadband constellation.
## Starlink V3 satellites
Each Starlink V3 satellite offers 1Tbps downlink and 160Gbps uplink capacity, 10x more than V2 satellites.
## Starship launch details
The launch began at 8:48 a.m. ET from Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas with 33 Raptor engines igniting.
## Booster performance
The booster performed a series of maneuvers to simulate a return to its launch site but exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.
## Starship test history
Starship has had an unusually prolonged test campaign with multiple engine shutdowns and upper-stage explosions.
## Starship's lunar mission
NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.89 billion contract to build a lunar lander for its Artemis project.
## Starship's future
SpaceX aims to have both stages reusable and rapidly recoverable for future missions.
## Key takeaway

SpaceX successfully reached Earth orbit with its Starship rocket on the 14th test flight after a brief delay due to an engine shutdown.