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SpaceX is reportedly moving toward phasing out its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft as it ramps up development and production of Starship, its next-generation vehicle. Competitors including Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin are described as not yet matching the launch cadence or scale that the industry currently demands.
Rocket Lab announced a new agreement with Japanese radar-imaging company Synspective covering 20 additional Electron launches, its largest single launch services agreement to date. This extends Synspective's total bookings with Rocket Lab to 47 missions, including 13 already flown since 2020 carrying the company's StriX radar satellites. The deal follows Rocket Lab's most recent Synspective launch on September 25.
Google sent a prototype orbital compute satellite, built by Planet Labs, aboard a SpaceX rocket from California, marking the first time one of its Tensor Processing Units has flown in space. The test will check whether the chip can sustain a kilowatt of continuous power, manage heat, and run AI models in short bursts without failure. Google's Travis Beals, who leads the effort called Project Suncatcher, said a more advanced two-satellite demo with laser communication links is planned for next year.
SpaceX's Starship rocket completed a test flight reaching orbital velocity, marking the first time the vehicle has achieved this milestone after multiple prior attempts ended in failure. The flight demonstrated key systems needed for the spacecraft's eventual role in deep-space missions, though the company still faces significant engineering hurdles before Starship can be used commercially.
SpaceX's 14th Starship test flight reached orbit for the first time on Monday, deploying 26 functioning Starlink satellites and completing a controlled splashdown of its Super Heavy booster. However, engine failures—one on the booster during ascent and descent, and one on the upper stage during ascent—forced SpaceX to cut the planned 10-hour, six-orbit mission short, returning the ship to Earth after about three hours before it exploded on Pacific splashdown.
SpaceX's 14th Starship test flight on Monday reached stable orbit, deployed 26 V3 Starlink satellites, and completed a controlled splashdown in the Pacific despite a vacuum Raptor engine failure. Despite the largely successful mission, SpaceX's private stock fell about 2% on the day and remains below where it stood a week earlier, prompting confusion among investors on social media.
SpaceX's Starship completed its 14th test flight on Monday, achieving orbital insertion for the first time and deploying 26 of its new Starlink V3 satellites from Starbase in South Texas. The Super Heavy booster, using 33 Raptor engines, separated and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, while the upper stage suffered an early engine shutdown before restarting a Raptor engine to reach an orbit roughly 171 miles up. SpaceX confirmed contact with all 26 deployed satellites, each weighing about 2 metric tons.
SpaceX's 14th Starship test flight launched from Starbase, Texas, and for the first time accelerated the upper stage to full orbital velocity rather than the suborbital trajectories used in prior tests. During the flight, the rocket deployed 26 next-generation Starlink satellites, which are too large to fit aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, releasing them one by one from its cargo bay. The Super Heavy booster separated and made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near the launch site.
On its 14th test flight, SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time, despite one of its more than three dozen engines shutting down early. The uncrewed vehicle deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites before mission controllers cut the planned 10-hour flight to three hours, and the craft splashed down in the Pacific north of Hawaii, tipping over and catching fire.
SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on a mission that reached orbit for the first time, successfully deploying an advanced batch of Starlink satellites. During ascent, one of the vehicle's engines shut down earlier than planned, and SpaceX cut the flight short as a precaution.
SpaceX's Starship, launched atop its Super Heavy booster, reached low-Earth orbit for the first time on its 14th flight, despite losing one of six Raptor engines mid-mission. The company shortened the planned orbital stay from about 10 hours to roughly three before Starship reentered and landed in the Pacific Ocean. During the flight, SpaceX deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites into orbit and confirmed contact with all of them, while the Super Heavy booster splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico for eventual recovery.
SpaceX's Starship completed its first orbital flight, deploying 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites despite an early shutdown of one Raptor 3 engine during ascent. After assessing the upper stage's condition at its first orbital checkpoint, SpaceX opted to cut the mission short, moving up the deorbit burn to about 11 a.m. EDT with splashdown planned in the Northern Pacific, rather than waiting out the full 7.5-hour orbital window.