SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has made history by successfully launching its Starship super-heavy rocket into orbit for the first time. This landmark flight comes despite one of the six Raptor 3 engines failing during the ascent. Marking the ship's 14th mission, it was the first to reach orbital altitude, following 13 previous suborbital attempts, of which five ended in failure. During this mission, Starship successfully deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit. Initially intended to complete roughly six orbits around the Earth, SpaceX opted to reduce the flight duration to three hours, after which the spacecraft is scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean. Looking ahead, NASA plans to utilize modified versions of Starship for lunar landings, although this will necessitate refueling from other spacecraft in orbit.
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