SpaceX Launches Starship Rocket and Deploys First Starlink Satellites

SpaceX’s Starship rocket lifted off from Texas, carrying the first 20 next-generation Starlink internet satellites into a brief suborbital trajectory as part of the company’s thirteenth test mission, aimed at launching routine service by the end of this year.

The 122-meter-tall rocket system launched at approximately 6:50 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas.

During the mission, the rocket deployed 20 third-generation Starlink satellites, a more powerful version that offers higher bandwidth and faster internet speeds.

The satellites briefly connected to SpaceX’s existing network of approximately 10,000 orbiting satellites before following the vehicle’s planned suborbital path into Earth’s atmosphere, where they burned up.

Engineers at SpaceX’s facilities in Hawthorne, California, were heard cheering in celebration of the rocket mission’s success.

The flight featured a new version of the rocket that is central to the company’s plans, which include expanding Starlink service, landing humans on the Moon for NASA by 2028, and deploying thousands of satellites in orbit for artificial intelligence processing.

The mission lasted about an hour and ended with Starship’s return through Earth’s atmosphere, with apparent minor damage to its heat shield.

This represents an improvement over previous tests and a step toward achieving CEO Elon Musk’s goal of making the rocket capable of regular flights and returns, much like an airplane.