Starship Reaches Orbit, and 26 New Starlink Satellites Go Up With It

SpaceX's new Starship rocket made its first orbital launch, the Rocket Report notes, finally adding low-Earth orbit to the rocket's list of accomplishments. The tally drew a raised eyebrow from Ars Technica's writer, who isn't sure many people outside SpaceX expected it to take 14 flights of Starship to technically get there. Previous attempts had gone 99 percent of the way, held back by safety concerns about the possibility of stranding the huge rocket in space.

What Ars calls the most notable outcome for SpaceX isn't the orbit itself but the cargo: the first 26 of the network's new-generation Starlink V3 satellites deployed, which Ars describes as unlocking large growth potential for Starlink. A rocket that reaches orbit is a milestone; a rocket that reaches orbit carrying the next generation of a revenue network is a business.