SpaceX / Flight test milestone
Starship reaches orbit.
Flight:
Artemis Tracker published and reviewed:
Flight 14 achieved Starship’s first Earth orbit and satellite delivery. It is a significant development step for the vehicle family that will support Artemis III.
What the flight achieved
SpaceX reports that Starship entered orbit, released all 26 Starlink V3 satellites and completed its first deorbit burn. A vacuum engine had shut down during ascent; controllers checked the remaining engines before approving orbital insertion.
The team then shortened the orbital phase as a precaution following that engine issue, returning Starship to a pre-cleared northern Pacific splashdown zone. Read SpaceX’s post-flight report.
BBC coverage records a roughly three-hour flight instead of the planned ten hours, with a fireball at splashdown. Reaching orbit is an important success; the shortened test and engine issue remain part of the result.
Why it matters for Artemis III
NASA plans to use a Starship Version 3 test article with a nose docking system for Artemis III in 2027. Orion will rendezvous and dock with it in low Earth orbit; astronauts will stay aboard Orion during the Starship phase.
Our assessment: orbital insertion and engine restart experience are relevant foundations for that demonstration. Flight 14 did not demonstrate Orion docking, crew-safe integrated operations or ship-to-ship propellant transfer, and does not establish that the Artemis test article is ready.
The mission plan remains a four-person Artemis III demonstration with both SpaceX and Blue Origin test vehicles. Artemis IV remains targeted for the first Artemis lunar landing in early 2028. This flight does not announce a change to those targets.