SpaceX’s Starship returns early from first Earth orbit attempt

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii on Monday after a roughly three-hour flight. The spacecraft successfully entered orbit for the first time during the flight, but it returned about seven hours earlier than initially planned. The change was likely due to an engine issue.

SpaceX’s live broadcast seemed to show an explosion occurring during splashdown, with pieces of debris flying into the air. The ship appeared to be mostly intact and floating on its side after the fireball cleared, though the extent of the damage, if any, was unknown. A SpaceX spokesman on the broadcast said the landing wasn’t perfectly smooth, but didn’t elaborate.

SpaceX previously conducted 13 test flights of Starship models, but those tests didn’t involve entering orbit. The company’s goal is for Starship to be a fully reusable commercial transportation vehicle capable of carrying both humans and cargo into space.

The spacecraft blasted off from SpaceX’s Texas launch site just before 8 a.m. local time. Starship successfully separated from the Super Heavy launch vehicle soon after the blastoff. One of Starship’s Raptor 3 engines shut down while the ship was conducting its initial engine burn to reach space. However, SpaceX technicians decided to continue the mission and conducted the second burn, which required only one engine, to launch Starship into orbit. The spacecraft successfully released its payload of 26 Starlink satellites while in orbit.

About an hour into the mission, SpaceX announced that Starship would come down early, likely due to the engine issue. The company originally planned to have the spacecraft orbit Earth six times over a roughly 10-hour period.