SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time Monday and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlinks yet, but decided to cut short the flight.
\n\nSpaceX said the spacecraft would reenter over the Pacific and splash down north of Hawaii three hours after blasting off from Texas. The company had been aiming for a 10-hour flight, spanning six full laps around Earth, to prove its readiness for NASA’s Artemis moon program.
\n\nThe spacecraft almost didn’t make it to orbit after one of its engines shut down too soon. But with everything else working well and the bad engine no longer needed, flight controllers decided after several tense minutes to proceed as planned.
\n\n“Starship is orbital,” Mission Control announced to cheers.
\n\nNASA Administrator Jared Isaacman congratulated SpaceX on reaching orbit and “managing every step in a safe, responsible and especially inspirational way.”
\n\nSpaceX’s Starship rocket launches into orbit
\n\nFounder Elon Musk’s showpiece rocket — the biggest and most powerful ever built — carried 26 of the latest and most advanced Starlink satellites to join the 11,000 older models already providing internet service. They popped out of the spacecraft one by one, drawing more cheers from the SpaceX crowds looking…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business