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SpaceX sends Starship into orbit for the FIRST TIME before rocket explodes in Pacific fireball

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026 · last updated 29 September 2026.

Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship launches from its Texas pad — a milestone flight that deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites before breaking apart over the Pacific Ocean.
Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship launches from its Texas pad — a milestone flight that deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites before breaking apart over the Pacific Ocean.
A fireball and smoke cloud mark the moment SpaceX's Starship broke apart over the Pacific, ending a three-hour mission cut short by an engine failure shortly after lift-off.
A fireball and smoke cloud mark the moment SpaceX's Starship broke apart over the Pacific, ending a three-hour mission cut short by an engine failure shortly after lift-off.

Elon Musk's SpaceX hit a historic landmark on Monday when its giant 400-foot Starship rocket completed its first-ever orbital flight during its 14th test, lifting off from Starbase in Texas at 7.48am local time. An engine failure during the climb threatened to end the attempt early, but mission controllers pushed on, drawing cheers as engineer Daniel Hewitt announced "Starship is in orbit" on the live stream. The vehicle released 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites before coming down in the Pacific just north of Hawaii, where it broke apart in a dramatic fireball. The originally planned ten-hour, six-orbit mission was shortened to just three hours after the engine shutdown forced a change of course.

An engine shut down close to lift-off, nearly scrubbing the mission before controllers judged it safe to proceed.

SpaceX cut its own live stream before the explosion — the fireball occurred moments after splashdown was confirmed.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman hailed the launch as SpaceX and NASA work together on plans to return humans to the Moon.

MoreReutersSpaceX's Starship engine failure could impact NASA's moon mission objectivesAPSpaceX’s supersized Starship launches into orbit for the first time but flight ends earlyNY PostSpaceX Starship splashes down in spectacular fireball after cutting short orbital flight around EarthIrish TimesStarship rocket reaches orbit, with SpaceX saying it will pave way for Mars missions
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