September 29, 2026 · Flight 14 recap

Starship made orbit the hard way: engines lost on both stages, an early trip home, and a booster catch planned next

Starship reached orbit on Monday, but it did not get there cleanly, and the details say a lot about what comes next at Starbase. According to NASASpaceflight's post-flight account, Booster 21 lost a center Raptor engine on the way up, flew its boostback burn on 31 engines, lit 11 of 13 engines for its landing burn and splashed down on target in the Gulf. It was then intentionally destroyed with its flight termination system.

Ship 41 lost one of its Raptor Vacuum engines partway through its ascent burn and still reached engine cutoff. SpaceX first called no-go for orbit, then talked it over and polled go, NASASpaceflight reports. The orbital insertion burn put the ship in an orbit of about 262 by 277 kilometers, and all 26 Starlink V3 satellites deployed.

The flight plan called for a coast of about eight hours and a splashdown off Chile. Instead SpaceX brought the ship home early, to its first contingency zone north of Hawaii. NASASpaceflight calls that SpaceX being very conservative, not wanting to leave a ship in orbit. The deorbit burn came about 2 hours 12 minutes after liftoff and splashdown about 3 hours 8 minutes after liftoff.

What comes next: NASASpaceflight reports that Booster 22 is set to be the first Block 3 booster to be caught, on Flight 15. A catch means the booster flies back to the launch tower instead of splashing down in the Gulf. And Ship 40, which splashed down intact in the Indian Ocean on Flight 13, is crossing the Atlantic aboard the ship Forte and is set to return no earlier than Oct. 8.

Sources: NASASpaceflight, "Ship 41 Makes it to Orbit, Booster 21 Nearly Perfect" · SpaceX on X, 10:58 AM CT Sept. 28: "Splashdown confirmed" · SpaceX on X, 7:50 AM CT Sept. 28: liftoff video (lead image)

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