SpaceX's 'biggest, most powerful' rocket reaches Earth orbit for first time

Elon Musk-led SpaceX’s Starship megarocket reached Earth orbit for the first time on Monday, marking a major milestone for the space company’s ambitious plans for the spacecraft.The 407-foot (124-metre) rocket lifted off from SpaceX’s launch site in southern Texas and entered orbit during its latest test flight.The mission was designed to take Starship around Earth six times over nearly 10 hours, flying at an altitude of about 170 miles (275 km), before a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near Chile.Starship, which SpaceX describes as the "biggest and most powerful" rocket ever built, was also carrying 26 of the company’s latest Starlink satellites. The satellites were intended to be deployed in orbit and add to the more than 11,000 Starlink satellites already providing internet services.The uncrewed, 40-storey vehicle consists of a Super Heavy booster topped by the Starship spacecraft. It took off at around 7.46am CT (1246 GMT) from the launch site near Brownsville, along the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).Starship was expected to complete six orbits of Earth during a nearly 10-hour flight before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.Reaching orbit is a key milestone for any rocket designed to carry payloads into space. Starship has yet to achieve the feat despite years of development. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had earlier predicted that the spacecraft would reach orbit in 2022, followed by satellite deployments in 2023.Since 2023, all 13 previous Starship test flights have remained suborbital, despite nearly a decade of development and more than $15 billion in spending, according to estimates cited in the report.SpaceX plans to use Starship to launch Starlink satellites at a higher frequency and eventually carry astronauts and cargo for Nasa's Moon missions.Musk has also said he wants SpaceX to eventually launch hundreds or even thousands of Starships each year, a scale of operations that would be unprecedented in the space industry.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.