SpaceX Advances Reusable Launch System with Starship Orbital Flight

Monday’s Starship launch underscored SpaceX’s progress toward a fully reusable launch vehicle. After launching from Texas, the massive spacecraft entered orbit and delivered a batch of 26 Starlink V3 satellites. While one of the six Raptor vacuum engines experienced a shutdown, the remaining thrust units performed within parameters, allowing the mission to stay on course. Over a ten‑hour window, Starship completed six Earth revolutions before heading for a Pacific splashdown near Chile. The V3 satellites feature beam‑forming chips that increase modem throughput up to 64 times compared with earlier models, delivering up to 1 Tbps downlink and 160 Gbps uplink capacity per satellite. These capabilities are designed to improve broadband access in densely populated cities as well as remote, underserved regions.