AP
SpaceX Starship Launch
David Orr rides his bike past SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026.
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SpaceX has launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time and successfully delivered the newest and most advanced Starlinks yet. But flight controllers brought the spacecraft back to Earth early Monday instead of making six full laps around Earth as originally planned. Starship descended into the Pacific, north of Hawaii, three hours after blasting off from Texas. The previous test flights just skimmed space, lasting an hour at most. Elon Musk's showpiece rocketship needs to ace orbital flight to prove its readiness for NASA's Artemis moon program.
