SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit Despite Engine Failure

SpaceX launched Starship Flight 14 from Starbase, Texas at 8:46 a.m. ET Monday. After 13 previous test flights that remained suborbital, the crewless vehicle completed an orbital insertion burn and reached Earth orbit. A Raptor 3 engine shut down about 15 minutes after launch, creating uncertainty about whether to proceed. About 20 minutes into the flight, mission control gave the go-ahead to attempt orbit, drawing cheers at Starbase, and orbit was reached about five minutes later. Hot-stage separation from Super Heavy Booster 21 succeeded at 2 minutes 34 seconds. The booster completed its landing burn and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. Starship was expected to complete about six orbits over a nearly 10-hour flight at approximately 275 km altitude. The mission planned to deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, then perform a deorbit burn using a single Raptor engine before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Chile. At the time of the reports those later objectives remained ahead. The Irish Independent reported Flight 14 would not go to orbit after the engine failed, while other outlets reported successful orbital insertion after the go-ahead.