Flight 14 Made Orbit the Hard Way

The day before Flight 14, an AP photographer caught a man named David Orr riding his bike past the rocket as crews readied it for launch. It is the kind of picture you only get down here: a bicycle, a quiet road, and a ship about to try for orbit.

On Monday, September 28, it nearly didn't get there. One of the ship's six engines shut down about 30 seconds early on the climb, and the team first planned to skip the burn into orbit. Then engineers worked out that the engine they needed for that burn, and for the later one to bring the ship down, was separate from the one that failed. After several tense minutes, Mission Control announced "Starship is orbital." SpaceX employees at the launch cheered loudly.

It was the first Starship to reach orbit and the first to put real satellites there. All 26 Starlink V3 satellites went out, and SpaceX says it made contact with every one of them. ABC News reported it was also the first Starship mission to make money for SpaceX. After years of stand-in satellites, call it a first paycheck.

The plan had been six laps around Earth. Out of caution over the engine, the team cut the trip short and made Starship's first-ever burn out of orbit, about three hours after liftoff. The ship came down on target north of Hawaii. The booster splashed down in the Gulf as planned, though two engines did not relight on each burn.

Flight 15 is next, and SpaceX has not set a date. That leaves November to the rest of us: cooler air, boats heading offshore, and birds and monarchs passing through. Not a bad month to wait in.